Illusions of Grandeur
by Kanathia
Summary: Angels, demons, and Winchesters have made it to the top of Harry's shit list, but first impressions are rarely right, and a glass of scotch can sooth anyone's temper. Starts mid season 3 and spans several seasons. Rated M for coarse language and mild violence.
1. Prologue: Erit Nobis Pacisci

**Here it is. Chapter one of a whole new story. Another Harry Potter crossover no less. I have to admit, they're addictive to write.**

**That said, this story will have some points where it draws heavily from Supernatural's timeline. I hate summarizing though so what I'll do is above the chapter I'll post any episodes necessary to have watched in order to fully understand things I've glanced over in the story. I'll try my best not to use too much or too little from the show.**

**This story starts about mid way through season 3, but it will span several seasons. This first chapter jumps A LOT timeline wise. If too many people get confused about when specific events are happening I might go back and add how long the time jumps are. Let me know. For now, enjoy.**

**Episodes: 2.21 and 2.22 All Hell breaks Loose parts 1 and 2, 3.11 Mystery Spot, 3.15 Time is on My Side, 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked**

**Warnings: Will contain copious amounts of adult language, and somewhat ooc Harry(this is explained later).**

****Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Supernatural, nor any characters suggested from the aforementioned works. They belong to the beautiful Jk Rowling and talented Eric Kripke respectively.**  
**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Harry looked down at the pendant clutched in his hand and gave a sigh before tossing it to the man beside him. Better to give up the item than get shot, he theorized. He'd been shot too many times as it was. Never was it a pleasant experience.

"You've got the amulet now." Harry said snottily. "Happy?"

"I'm never happy." The man bit back.

"I've noticed." Harry replied snidely under his breath. He watched as the man attached the amulet to his belt knotting the cord properly so it wouldn't come loose. "So, I'll just be taking my leave then?"

"Not so fast." The man cut him off with a click of his gun as Harry made to move toward the door.

Harry suppressed the shudder that wanted to run through him at the sound.

"I heard some interesting stories about you."

"Funny." Harry shot back. "I've heard some interesting stories about you too."

This caught the man's attention, but he clearly wasn't going to take the bait. No, he was going to keep this focused on Harry. "I've heard you have the strangest ability to come back from the dead. A hunter up in Nebraska swears he put a bullet through your brain about a year ago and then he saw you a few months ago traipsing around Milwaukee like it never happened."

Harry shrugged. "What can I say? I have a natural talent for avoiding death." His smirk widened when he saw the man's eyes narrow. "Care to try the same methods as dear old Gordon though? I'd say the man had a habit for jumping the gun, but I'd hate to sound like I'm making light of the situation with a pun."

"No, you're going to tell me why you were after the amulet in the first place."

Harry frowned. The amulet was a trinket to him. It meant little. That was the reason he'd so easily handed it over. Sure it offered protection to the wielder, but it was little more than a low level warding spell. It was useless to him, but the buyer he had lined up for it wanted it so he'd tracked the thing down to some back water town in North Dakota. "Sorry. Client confidentiality and all that nonsense. Now if you're willing to pay for the information I might be more willing to give it to you."

It was the hunter's turn to make a disgruntled face. He looked like he'd swallowed a lemon.

"Are you quite done with your interrogation?" Harry inquired. "I have places to go. People to meet."

The gun retort didn't surprise Harry as much as it should have. The pain in his shoulder was an unwelcome discomfort but he'd grown used to the annoyance of pain. "Ow." He said with a slight frown. "Silver bullet I assume? Gordon already tried normal ones, and rock salt, and iron. I'm not a creature you know."

"You certainly aren't human." the man replied eyes darting to the room's exits nervously. His bullet wasn't causing an overt amount of pain and he wasn't prepared to deal with more.

"I'm hurt." Harry said placing a hand over his heart dramatically. "What makes you think that?"

The man turned disbelieving eyes on him.

"Now that we've established that you're ill equipped to kill me even if you wanted to I think I'll take my leave. Now make sure to send me a post card if you're ever in the area." Harry said caustically exiting the room and leaving a stunned hunter behind.

As soon as he was out of sight of the man he apparated to his plush apartment in Texas. It was quite a distance from where he'd been so he figured he'd bought himself quite a while of peace. Of course he'd have to ditch the place as soon as he told the buyer he'd been unable to procure the item, but he'd been looking for a change of pace anyway. He was growing tired of the stale city air that was offered in the cramped city of Houston.

"What to do…" he said with a frown.

"You could start with not stealing my clients."

Harry put on a fake smile and turned toward the petite woman standing near his counter looking perfectly at home. "Ah, Bela." He said with mock warmness. "Always a pleasure. What can I do for you?"

"I've already told you." She said slowly pulling off white gloves she'd been wearing.

"Let's not forget who found most of your clients and put in a good word for you when you first started love."

Bella gave him a glare worthy of Mrs. Weasley on a bad day. "I've more than paid you back for that."

Harry shook his head exasperatedly. "I don't want your money Bela, just a tinge of gratitude. It was a low paying job anyway. I only took it out of curiosity."

He knew he had her caught with that one. The job had only been for a couple grand, nowhere near the amount Bela preferred to make on her jobs. Harry made his way to his couch and plopped down motioning for her to take a seat in the chair across from him.

"You're bleeding." She said eying his shoulder.

"Indeed I am." He said dispassionately. He'd nearly forgotten but her reminder made the twinge flare up again. He was leaning against white upholstery too and he could tell from Bela's look that she disapproved, much to his amusement.

"I heard that you have a few hunters on your trail." Bela said arranging herself neatly on the chair.

"That would be correct. One of them caught up to me." Harry shrugged ignoring the pull on the wound. "I was expecting it sooner or later. Persistent buggers the lot of them. I heard you ran into the Winchesters."

Bela looked momentarily uncomfortable. "I did. Twice now."

"I've heard some interesting rumors about those two." Harry said leaning back to stare at the ceiling. "Their father as well."

"Any credit to those rumors?" she asked clearly having heard the same rumors he had.

Harry fixed her with an even stare. "Yes."

She raised an eyebrow at his blunt answer. It was unlike him to give away any information easily or without a price.

"There's no point denying it." Harry offered. "You won't be around long enough to see it transpire anyway."

She fidgeted and stared wide eyed at him. He grinned predatorily.

"Yes Bela. I know about your deal. I can smell it on you like whiskey on an alcoholic when he returns from a bar. Besides, the way you showed up in America like the Hellhounds of England were on your heels pretty much told me everything anyway."

She swallowed thickly. She'd faced few people who knew more about her than she did about them.

"Your time's almost up." Harry said seeming completely unfazed by the thought of her dying.

"Do you know any way to-"

"Cancel the deal?" Harry finished for her. "Yes, and no. Love, a crossroads deal isn't exactly a gambling bet with a bar buddy. You can't revoke it when your time comes due just because you're getting pregame jitters."

She closed her eyes. She had hoped Harry would be able to help.

"My only suggestion would be to call up your demon buddy and try to renegotiate. There are things out there that demons want more than your soul. Perhaps they'll be willing to make a trade."

It wasn't like Bela hadn't already thought of the possibility of contacting the demon she'd made the deal with. It was simply something she'd been putting off for fear that the demon would straight up deny her request.

"Well, thrilling though this conversation has been I have obligations to fulfill. Do let me know if you survive your run in with fate."

She tried not to cringe at his casual mentioning of her likely death. They'd never been particularly close, and she had screwed him over more times than she could count. He seemed to take her betrayals like a parent would take a spoiled child's rebellion. He always welcomed her back with semi-open arms and a knowing smile. He was the reason she so hated being indebted to people.

"Good luck Bela."

* * *

Harry stared at the medium sized house and frowned. It wasn't exactly luxurious compared to his normal picks, but it would suffice. He was going to miss that pent house a little. It had been perfect for entertaining the occasional hunter who found him. After all, no one questions the man with the money, and the man with the money usually owned a pent house.

"It'll do." He said the sales woman who was standing beside him getting ready to go over all the reasons this house should be his dream home. She looked a bit thrown by his sudden announcement. When what he said caught up with her though she beamed.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to see the inside?" she asked with a bright smile. He could practically see the dollar signs floating in her eyes. "It's just as charming as the outside."

"I'm sure it is." Harry said offering an amused grin. "Have the papers drawn up for me by tomorrow? I trust you'll be able to get me a reasonable offer."

She nodded vehemently.

"Fantastic. I'll be back then." Harry said making his way back to his Camaro with hardly a glance back at the ecstatic woman.

* * *

Harry grabbed one of boxes and popped the top open to stare at the contents. An assortment of knickknacks filled the container. This particular box hosted some of his warding objects. He grabbed a small angel figurine and gently placed it on the highest shelf to his left sliding it so that the thing's face pointed toward the door.

He grabbed a vase and placed it on the table to his right making sure the sigil on the back was facing away from curious eyes. He paused then tilting, his head to the side.

"I thought the angels had been instructed not to come to Earth." He said to the room's new arrival without turning to face him. If the man didn't have to courtesy to ask to be let into the house Harry wouldn't dignify his arrival with a polite reception.

"The order has been repealed." The gruff voice assured him. "In light of recent events it was decided that the heavenly host was needed to run interference in Earthly matters."

"I see." Harry said with disinterest. He didn't particularly care whether or not the angels kept to themselves or started walking the Earth again. "Is there a reason you are here instead of doing your job somewhere else?"

The silence reassured Harry that the angels were just as hesitant to step on his bad side as they had been the last time he had met them.

"Your existence walks a thin line-"

"Between blasphemy and sainthood." Harry said throwing a look over his shoulder. "I've heard the spiel before. It's hardly new. You angels are quite set in your ways and as such your admonishments rarely tend to change a great deal. You've never been great at getting to the point either. Always dressing your words up into riddles and trying to make the mortals figure out the puzzle in some sort of grand enlightenment scheme. The difference here though kiddo is that I'm not a mortal. I don't take well to threats, hell I don't even care for criticism when it comes from hypocritical self righteous twats like you."

He had turned to face the angel and the slowly growing agitation was clearly showing on his face as his words grew in intensity.

"I'm only going to ask one more time. Why are you here Uriel?"

The angel fixed him with a disdainful look. Harry had heard that the angel had a great dislike for all things human and Harry had once been human.

"I was asked to inform you of the impending apocalypse. My superiors could not make it here themselves." Uriel finally relented.

Harry's face turned considering. "I'd heard rumors that the demons were trying to break the seals." He admitted. "Ambriel couldn't take a few minutes to come here? I owe him a drink."

Uriel scowled. "Ambriel is busy trying to complete a task given to him by the archangel Michael. He cannot come to the beck and call of something such as you."

"Something such as me." Harry parroted the words. "Curious phrasing. Now, personally I was never one to get offended when being referred to as sub human. I've grown quite fond of losing my mortality over time. It's offered me a bit of freedom in the areas of conscience. Not to mention my ability to have freedom from the whim of corrupted angels like yourself. Oh, yes." He held up a finger as Uriel made a furious face at the insult. "I can see your corruption. Your grace is so tainted it's a wonder you haven't fallen from favor already. I'll give it time Uriel, but before long you'll end up on the hit list too; just another hunt for the supernaturally inclined of this world to deal with. Your egotistical charades will only get you so far. Now, I'm not in the mood to speak with you any longer so I'll ask you to kindly vacate the premises."

Uriel took an enraged step toward him only find his right foot stuck to the floor behind him. His infuriated expression turned to one of confusion.

"I gave you the chance to do it yourself." Harry said with a sigh as he opened the cabinet door to his wet bar. On the inside was an angel repelling sigil he had created. He smirked as he pressed his hand against it. Uriel vanished in a flash of brilliant light. "Won't be seeing him for a while." He murmured.

* * *

Harry was in the business of selling information and items to anyone who could pay the price he stuck on them. Mostly he sold rare and obscure items. They brought in more revenue in one go after all. Occasionally he'd make a talisman or amulet for a hunter in need.

Ah, hunters. He was quite amused with that particular group of humans. He had to admit he probably would have become a hunter in his human life if he'd known it to be an option. It was preferable to law enforcement as you had no superiors to order you around, and Harry found quickly that he had an issue with authority. He supposed he should have seen that coming. He had broken every school rule that had been deemed important by staff when he was a kid. Why would his need to prove rules wrong change as an adult?

As it was Harry was a thief, an information broker, a salesman, and on occasion he was a hunter. He was brilliant at all of it if he had to say. He supposed that most people would see the number of injuries he picked on hunts to be a negative connotation on his ability to hunt, but with his quick healing and inability to die that was far from accurate. He was, perhaps, a tinge full of himself.

Harry bit his cheek as he rounded the corner of a shop in Sun Valley, Idaho. He'd just finished a meeting with a particularly annoying client. Why did some clients insist on that half now half later concept to the point of cutting the money literally in half? It made Harry's job all the harder.

He tossed a brief case full of half bills into his back seat and paused as he was opening the front door. His head tilted to the side as it was apt to do when he found something curious. A strange power was filling the air. It was far off, but it was altering time significantly so it was far from unnoticeable. He was sure any reapers in America could feel it too. It tugged at his mind like a half remembered thought. Frowning he relocked his car and concentrated to find the powers origin.

"Florida?" he said with confusion. The power certainly was throwing waves quiet far to reach him in Idaho from Florida. He shrugged, but he knew his curiosity was taking hold of his actions.

* * *

He wasn't sure what he was expecting when he popped in on the power's source, but this certainly wasn't it. The freakishly tall brooding guy in the corner with the scowl looked desperate. The man parading in front of him looked amused, but annoyed. It was a look Harry was familiar with. He wore it himself quite often. The man was familiar as well.

"Just take us back to that Tuesday—er, Wednesday—when it all started. Please. We won't come after you, I swear." The tall man said and Harry swung his attention back to him his foot hanging mid air from where he'd just been about to step out.

"You swear." The other man said disbelievingly.

"Yes." The tall man said earnestly.

"I don't know. Even if I could-"

"You can."

"True. But that don't mean I should. Sam, there's a lesson here that I've been trying to drill into that freakish Cro-Magnon skull of yours."

"Lesson? What lesson?"

"This obsession to save Dean? The way you two keep sacrificing yourselves for each other? Nothing good comes out of it. Just blood and pain. Dean's your weakness. And the bad guys know it, too. It's gonna be the death of you, Sam. Sometimes you just gotta let people go."

"He's my brother."

"Yup. And like it or not, this is what life's gonna be like without him."

"Please. Just—please."

Harry had heard enough. He stepped out letting his presence be known. He took a small amount of joy in watching the trickster's head swing about nearly fast enough to give him whiplash. "Loki." He said with a smile. "It's been a while."

Loki scowled. "Always ruining my fun." He muttered.

Sam's eyes were fixed on Harry as though his presence was either a godsend or the most unwelcome distraction ever and he couldn't decide which.

"Your magic is upsetting the balance." Harry said tilting his head to the side. "I could feel waves all the way in Idaho."

Loki looked momentarily impressed with himself. Then he sighed and fixed the taller man with a glare. "Fine, look. This all stopped being fun months ago. You're Travis Bickle in a skirt, pal. I'm over it."

The tall man looked unsure at the trickster's words. "Meaning what?"

"Meaning that's for me to know and you to find out." Loki replied snapping his fingers.

The tall man disappeared but Harry and Loki remained standing in the middle of the odd room. Harry reached up and gently removed an upside down glass of 'liquid' from the nearest odd dining set. With a snap of his fingers the glass was filled with scotch instead of the odd jelly like substance it had been before.

"You don't usually track me down like that." Loki said frowning.

"You don't usually use enough magic to send long range waves. That was a powerful illusion spell you were working. Who was that and what did he do to deserve that particularly vicious cycle spell?" Harry asked conjuring a chair for himself and Loki and motioning for the other to sit as well.

"Sam Winchester." Loki said with a playful frown. Now that he figured out Harry wasn't here for what seemed malevolent reasons he relaxed a bit.

"Sammy Winchester?" Harry said glancing up to where the man had been standing. "Lots of things going through the rumor mill about that one."

"Still have that rumor mill running then? It's been forever, I'm surprised you didn't get tired of gossiping with every creature, person, or demon you came across."

Harry shrugged. "I like to be informed. Staying one step ahead of the game helps me feel secure." Harry joked. "Speaking of which. I had a heavenly visit today."

Loki looked momentarily uncomfortable. "That so?"

"It is." Harry said taking a sip of his drink. "You know I don't care much for your brothers. None of them seem to have nearly as much self preservation instinct as is normally necessary. Nor do they act as divine as beings led by god should. In short they're sort of dicks."

Loki gave him a disbelieving look. "You know then?"

"Of course I know." Harry scoffed. "I'd have to be an idiot not to notice the similarities between your magical signature and theirs."

Loki frowned.

"Stop worrying." Harry said fixing him with a smile. "I'm not going to tell anyone. I've known since our second meeting and I've not told anyone yet. No point in laying all my cards on the table at once after all."

Loki looked slightly relieved, but still wary.

Harry fixed him with a smirk. "I've been meaning to make a trip over to talk with you. I'm sure you've heard rumor about the apocalypse."

* * *

Dean gave Sam another incredulous look. "You can't be serious. Bobby tell him he's crazy." Dean bit out.

Bobby gave Dean a 'keep me out of it' stare.

"Dean I don't know who the guy was but maybe he can help. He called off that trickster somehow."

"Sam the guy could be a demon for all you know and you want to go sticking your neck out?"

"You don't know he's a demon Dean!" Sam yelled back. "And if there's even the slightest chance he might be able to help you we have to try!"

"Knock it off you idjits. You're giving me a headache." Bobby said plopping down into one of the rickety chairs that sat beside his dining room table. "We don't even know how to find him. He can't do us much good right now anyway. I tried looking into some lore and even gave out the physical description to a list of hunters. Not a single lead popped up."

As if to spite the aged hunter the phone began to ring. All three shared a look before Bobby pulled dingy device down. Bobby opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the other person. "Ellen, slow down."

Sam and Dean shared another look moving closer in hope they'd be able to hear the conversation. Bobby shoved them back with a glare. He was grunting affirmatives to the woman on the other end for about two minutes before he suddenly picked up a pen and jotted down an address before hanging up. "Well I'll be damned." He muttered staring at the address he'd written.

"What's that?" Dean asked eying it as well.

"What did Ellen want?" Sam asked with concern.

"Well for one she wanted to know why we were looking for the guy. She figured it out herself pretty quick and after asking around some old hunting friends she came up with a name. She said she'd checked an old address of his. Jo got the forwarding address from the post office."

Sam looked excited. "How far are we going Bobby?"

"Not so fast." Bobby said drawing the paper closer to him. "Ellen says the guy's dangerous, has a pretty bad reputation when people annoy him. She said we might not like what we find."

"What choice do we have?" Sam asked eyebrows knotting together in confusion and anger.

"He's human?" Dean asked overruling Sam's question.

Bobby shrugged.

* * *

"Green River, Wyoming." Dean said with a whistle as the three of them stepped out of their vehicles just a street over from their destination. They figured it was better to leave the Impala and Bobby's truck a street over just in case. "I have to say not exactly where I'd think to look for some crazy powerful hoodoo man…or whatever he is."

Sam just rolled his eyes and started walking in the right direction. Bobby made a motion for Dean to follow before following himself.

The house wasn't particularly large. It was two stories with a cobblestone exterior and a large bay window out front. The curtains were drawn from the large windows affording them a view of a large den with a, "Is that a piano?" Dean asked eying the instrument.

"What else would it be ya idjit?" Bobby said with a look.

Sam searched for a doorbell before giving up and knocking as loud as he could without being rude. It took a few minutes before they heard the shuffling footsteps and the door swung open cleanly revealing a man who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He had raven hair and sharp green eyes that observed them like they were insects he found particularly amusing. "Can I help you?" the English lilt surprised Dean.

Sam looked like he'd just won the lottery. Dean supposed that meant they'd found the right guy. It had been a toss up as to whether or not this would be him or not.

"Er, well. You see…"

The man let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes, I was told you Winchesters had a tendency to be far from articulate. Honestly I had decided to give you the benefit of the doubt and say the rumors were untrue, but fate always does love to prove me wrong. Come inside. I don't feel like paying a fortune in heating costs waiting for you to form a coherent thought."

Sam blinked. He certainly hadn't expected that, but when the door widened and the man motioned them through he moved inside unwilling to ruin his chance to save his brother. Dean and Bobby followed at a much more sedate pace each twitching as if they wanted to unload a few salt rounds in the man to make sure he wasn't about to turn on them.

The raven haired man led them through a wide hall into a sitting room and plopped onto a plush couch gesturing for them to take seats as well. "I take it you're not here to talk about the weather. What can I help you with? The only hunters I've dealt with recently wanted amulets or information." He paused grabbing a drink that Dean hadn't realized had been resting on the coffee table, next to it lay a book. "You don't look like you need amulets though."

"Not unless you've got one that stops hell hounds." Dean joked before he could stop himself.

The man raised an eyebrow. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. The name's Harry. Harry Potter."

"What's the point of introducing ourselves if you know who we are?" Dean asked defensively. His mind ran through possibilities. Was there a monster that needed your name to harm you? "You said Winchester at the door."

Harry smirked. "I don't know who you are per se." he said tilting his head, his eyes flickered to Sam and then back to Dean. "It's only Sam Winchester over here whom I'm familiar with."

Dean tensed.

"And quite the rumor mill spreading about you Mr. Sam." Harry said with a joking lilt to his voice. "I know a few hunters and…ehem…non hunters who would pay a pretty penny to know your location. I'd keep my head under the radar if I were you."

"Is that a threat?" Dean asked nearly standing before Bobby put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Hardly." Harry said taking a sip of his drink. "More of a suggestion. I take it you're Dean. The over protectiveness sort of gives you away. This older gentlemen here, my money would be on Bobby Singer. Am I wrong? Oh you all look terribly tense. Do you see why I prefer to have my guests introduce themselves now? It tends to leave them with a sense of control."

"Who are you?" Dean asked through gritted teeth.

"Harry Potter." He said with a smirk. "I thought I'd clarified that already."

"I meant what are you!"

"Dean!" Sam chided speaking up finally.

"Ah, well that's a harder question to answer. I'm afraid I'm not really in the mood to answer it either. Now I'm going to have to insist you tell me what you want some time this century. I was quite enjoying my novel before the interruption and I'd like to return to it at some point."

Dean opened his mouth to say something but Sam cut him off. "Can you stop a deal?" he blurted before he even realized he was speaking.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "A deal?"

"A crossroads deal." Sam clarified. He didn't miss the way Harry's eyes flickered to Dean.

"What makes you think I could?" Harry asked with open curiosity.

"I saw the way you showed up in Florida, and you called off that trickster."

Harry laughed. "I hardly called him off. He'd already decided to release you. Although, from the looks of it his lesson didn't stick so well."

Sam flinched drawing curious glances from Dean and Bobby.

Harry leaned back observing the three. "I can't break the deal." He said and Sam looked ready to protest. "Demon deals are difficult to wiggle out of. Not to mention you're cutting it pretty close to your deadline. Three days? Really? Besides, from the sounds of it you have no issue leaving others to hell's devices. Bela hardly got the fair end of the stick on that one."

The brothers shared a nervous glance at the mention of the British thief who'd caused them so much hell lately.

"Now, normally I'd offer you this." He snapped his fingers and the colt appeared inches above his right ear and plopped into his hand. Three pairs of eyes riveted to the gun. "But I'm afraid you'll probably lose it if I give it to you right now so I think I'll keep it for safe keeping at the moment. Besides, I heard you're working with a lovely demon that already carries about a demon killing dagger."

"We'd stand a better shot with the colt and the knife." Dean pointed out eying the colt greedily.

Harry laughed humorlessly. "You don't stand a chance in hell even with both. Lillith will wipe the floor with you if you show up right now."

"You know who's holding Dean's contract? What else aren't you telling us?" Bobby finally spoke up.

"The things I know could fill more books than you could fit in a national library Mr. Singer." Harry said snapping his fingers again. The colt was gone. "I may pick and choose which I tell you, but it's only for your own good. Know too much too quickly and you get put on hit lists of people you can't possibly hope to defend yourself from. I recommend you all take a few seconds to reevaluate the reason you're here. I hate to inform you of this, but Dean will die in three days. It's the will of the world. I think it's time we said our goodbyes. Now, if you wish to seek me out in a few months time I might be more cooperative. For now my hands are tied."

Sam looked utterly defeated at the news.

Harry snapped his fingers once more and the three hunters found themselves standing by the impala once more. Harry grabbed his book and leaned back enjoying the soft feel of the fabric beneath him but a frown tugged at his lips. The Winchesters had been a bit different from what he'd imagined them as. "The older one did look ready to pull a gun on me a few times though." He said taking a sip of his drink and placing it on the oak table.

"You're lucky you weren't shot." Loki's voice greeted him. "Or doused in holy water. I'm pretty sure they think you're a demon."

"A pleasure as always." Harry said by way of greeting. "I do wish you angels would use the front door though."

Loki shot him a coy look from the arm chair he was reclining in. "You could have helped them."

Harry glanced over face completely emotionless. "I could have."

"Why didn't you?"

"In my experience people tend not to learn their lesson without a bit of tough love. Dean sold his soul so he gets a trip to hell. Or he'll go about pawning it off all the time. Besides, they weren't exactly offering collateral, and saving Dean would've put me on quite a few hit lists."

"Whose hit list besides the general demon-"

Harry glanced up from the pages of his novel. "There are quite a few parties interested in the start of the end of the world. I find the 'apocalypse' to be a bit melodramatic sounding. Still," he shrugged. "It's not my problem to fix."

Loki frowned, it was an expression that really didn't fit his playful nature. "I've heard the Winchesters are the vessels."

Harry hummed a positive in response.

"Does this mean you want the apocalypse to happen?" Loki asked genuinely curious.

Harry sighed and set his book to the side. "Honestly? I don't care at the moment. I've always been less of an overall picture kind of guy and more of an individual scenario kind of person. The Winchesters are intriguing. I might help them in the future. I've never cared for demons or angels anyway. Humanity has always had the more interesting players."

Loki huffed even if he agreed with the assessment. He was, after all, an angel and Harry's slight was somewhat directed toward him.

Harry shot him a look. "I always enjoy a good chat Loki but I'm a bit preoccupied."

Loki gave him a knowing smile. "Fifty shades of gray doesn't count as reading material. I know you're only reading it for the smut anyway."

Harry shot him a smirk. "Goodbye Gabriel."

Loki winked and was gone.

* * *

Sam sat in the passenger seat of the impala eying the card he'd found in his pocket that morning. _Harry Potter Information Broker 832 549 XXXX_

"Would you give it a rest with that card Sammy?" Dean said snapping him from his reverie. "You've gotta get your head in the game."

It was true of course. They were on their way to find Lilith. They'd long since left behind Bobby's place in Sioux Falls. Sam frowned at the small piece of paper before pocketing it. Normally he would have ignored Dean's blunt request, but considering his brother might die soon he figured he would humor him.

"Do you think Lilith's really there?"

"I damn well hope so." Dean ground out focusing his glare through the windshield.

Sam just nodded in agreement. If she wasn't there they had no other leads. They'd be stuck.

* * *

**So that's the first chapter. The second one should be up soon. I've written a fair amount of this story already over the holidays but I don't want to rush updates so I have time to keep writing new chapters. I hope you guys enjoyed. Drop a review. Cheers!**

'**Til next time!**

**~Kanathia**


	2. Ch 1: Daemon Agit et Annulos

**I decided to go ahead and post the second chapter to get the word count up to a decent amount that will draw in readers. I usually start my searches no lower than 10thousand words after all. So enjoy a second chapter.  
**

**Episodes: 4.1 Lazarus Rising**

* * *

It was done, over. Dean was gone. Sam stared at his hands. Dean had been gone for months now. An empty hole had opened in Sam's chest when he'd lifted his brother's lifeless corpse in his arms. He'd tried so much to get his brother back. So much. But he was losing hope that anything could bring Dean back.

Bobby had tried to keep him away from the darker stuff but it hadn't been easy, and he'd ultimately failed. Sam felt terrible for pushing the man away, but he hadn't been thinking straight. Hell he still wasn't. No, he was drowning his sorrows in alcohol one shot at a time and even that wasn't working. So he had gone to Ruby. She had given him a purpose. He'd felt a momentary sense of relief to be out and hunting again. It was just an added perk that he could interrogate the demons for ways to bring Dean back. So far no secrets had been spilled.

Sam shuffled to the side cabinet to pour himself another drink and felt his finger hit something. With curiosity he stopped and glanced down at the small unoffending card that lay there. He must have thrown it out of his pocket when he'd been cleaning them out after the last hunt. He thumbed the simplistic thing. It was stark white, or had been at some point. Now it was a bit smudged with things Sam didn't really want to think about. The font was just slightly curved to look fancy but not overbearing.

Sam couldn't quite recall what the small unobtrusive thing was doing there until he caught a glimpse of the name still proudly shining at the top in black letters. _Harry Potter._

He felt his breath catch in his throat as he recalled their conversation the last time Sam had shown up on the man's doorstep toting Dean and Bobby with him. He was stuck on one sentence in particular. '_Now, if you wish to seek me out in a few months time I might be more cooperative.'_ It sounded like a hint. How could he have forgotten until this point? Maybe this guy could do something to pull Dean back even if he hadn't been able to save Dean from the get go. A damaged Dean was better than no Dean right?

Sam pulled out his cell phone and hastily punched in the number from the card. It rang twice before forwarding to an answering machine. A smooth woman's voice told him that Harry was unavailable at the moment but he could be found at a business located not far from where Sam was currently staying. Well, not far by Winchester standards at least. It was still two states from him, but considering that it could have been on the other side of the country Sam wasn't going to start complaining.

Instead he began throwing all his belongings into an overnight bag so he could set off. There was no telling how long Harry would be at the place he was and Sam didn't want to have to go searching all over creation for the guy.

* * *

It had taken two tense days of driving, and three ignored calls from Bobby for Sam to reach his destination.

The building was large and sleek, made mostly of windows as office buildings were so prone to be these days. Sam stared at it for a moment unsure how to proceed. His life hadn't taught him to approach things head on after all.

He bit down his nervousness and stepped into the building heading to the front desk. A petite woman in a pristine white suit greeted him with a tight smile. "How may I help you?"

"Er, well…" Sam started hesitantly before he remembered what Dean had told him in the past. Show a determined front and act like you're supposed to be there and things usually fell into place. He cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders. "I'm looking for a man named Harry Potter."

She gave him an incredulous look as if he'd just announced he was looking for a giant paper clip named Blinky. Sam trying not to let the look throw him. "You've found the right place. He owns the building after all."

Sam felt like slapping his face. "Is he in?"

She took a more professional tone. "Do you have an appointment?"

Sam hesitated. "Er, well…"

"Gina." A man said walking up to the desk in a flurry of movement. "I told you to have the files organized before you left yesterday. They're still a mess."

The woman who'd been talking to Sam glanced away apologetically. "I'm sorry. I got a call from my son's school."

The man stopped as he seemed about to chew her out to glance at Sam. He seemed to consider something as looked at him. "Are you here for an appointment?"

"Not exactly." Sam replied. "But I was hoping Mr. Potter could see me. My name is Sam Winchester."

Sam hesitantly gave out his real name in hopes that Harry would recognize it and let him through.

The man scowled as if affronted by Sam's very presence. "You have to call and set up an appointment. Mr. Potter is a very busy man. He doesn't have time to just speak with any vagrant that wanders in off of the-"

"Sammy!"

If the exclamation of his name didn't make him tense the sudden harsh pat of his back certainly would have. He glanced to his right and slightly down to see the same emerald eyed man he'd met several months back beaming up at him.

"Good to see you Sam." He said before turning to the two at the desk. "I'm afraid we'll have to push back my 2:30. Take care of that for me would you Gina. Ted if you'd see me in my office later I think we need to have a talk. Alrighty, thanks guys."

Sam tried to catch up with what was happening as he was none too gently guided away from the desk and into an elevator. The moment the doors closed the smile faded from Harry's face.

"I do so hate bureaucracy." He said rolling his shoulders. "Unfortunately it's necessary to run a business."

Sam just stared incredulously.

A small ding announced their arrival on the top floor. The doors slid open to reveal an oak door which Harry pushed open haphazardly. Behind it lay a spacious office with an Oak desk settled near one of the windows. Harry made a bee line for one of the cabinets to the side. "So Sam Winchester, I had a feeling I'd be seeing you soon."

Sam sent him a suspicious glare. "What do you mean?"

Harry shrugged pouring amber liquid into a glass. "I told you your brother wouldn't escape from his deal. I assume you're here about his soul. You don't seem like the weak willed sort who'd just give up on getting his brother back."

"Why didn't you help before?" Sam asked moving a bit further from the elevator.

"I told you then and I'll remind you now. Demon deals are not so easily broken. I could have pushed my hand and possibly gotten Dean off, but there would have been consequences that rippled through the world. Dean's elevator to hell was a necessary trigger. It was something that two very powerful forces wanted and honestly I don't feel like being caught in the crossfire for having stopped it."

Sam tried to work out what Harry had said but gave up, storing the information in his head for later examination. "Can you get him out?" Sam asked sounding a tinge desperate.

Harry looked a tinge sympathetic at Sam's obvious emotional trauma. "I can." He said with a shrug.

"Do it." Sam sounded desperate and demanding at the same time.

Harry smirked. "My services don't come for free Sam."

"What do you want? My soul?" Sam spat.

Harry placed a hand across his chest appalled. "Do I _look_ like a bloody demon to you?" he asked with all due anger. "No I don't want your soul you morbid-" Harry cut himself off anger flashing in his eyes before he controlled his temper. "I don't make deals for souls like some two bit, dog breeding crossroads demon. You have nothing I want at the moment."

Sam opened his mouth. To protest or beg he hadn't decided but Harry's hand stopped him.

"This is all about what you'll acquire in the future."

Sam gave him a confused look. Harry thought he looked rather like a deer caught in the headlights.

"A ring."

"A ring?"

Harry nodded. "A very specific ring." Harry said placing himself in the armchair nearest to the window. "It was snatched from me years ago and returned to its 'proper master' as I've been told, but that's far from the truth. It holds sentimental value and I wish for it back. If you promise to retrieve the ring for me in the future I will promise to do my utmost to have Dean's soul returned to the Earthly plane."

"I'll do it." Sam said without an ounce of hesitation.

Harry nodded. "Good." Harry took a sip of his drink but didn't move.

"Well?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Isn't there something we have to do to seal the deal or something?"

Harry scoffed leaning forward. "For the last time Winchester, I'm not a demon. Our deal is based solely on our word. You can get out of it as easily as ignoring our agreement. Of course, backing out means making powerful enemies. I'm sure you have no intention to do that."

Sam looked thoughtful. "You really aren't a demon." He said with confusion. "So what are you?"

Harry smirked. "Well, few people know the real answer to that question. Suffice it to say that right now I'm an ally, but I'm an ally you don't want to fuck with. Make sure you don't. I think that about wraps up our conversation. Have a pleasant day Sam." Harry said with a grin and then he leaned forward holding out a business card. "Take it. Just say my name if you ever want to talk. I can't have you coming in to my office all the time. You Winchesters dress like fashion impaired hobos."

Sam grabbed the card and made for the elevator a faint hope growing in his chest. He would see Dean again. Those last few months without him would soon be simple memories.

* * *

Harry frowned as he sipped his whiskey and stared at the patchy grass near his feet. A small grave in Illinois marked with only a hastily made cross with his name etched on it was the resting place of one Dean Winchester. It certainly was under dramatic. He supposed at least this way he had a body to work with.

He hadn't bothered to even ask Sam if they had cremated Dean. He supposed he was thankful for the tall man's obstinacy when it came to his brother. After all, they had burned their father. Harry smirked. He'd known Sam had cared more about Dean than he had about John. Or maybe he'd read it wrong and it was simply the lack of Dean's reasoning that led to the improper hunter burial.

"Alright. Suppose this isn't going to do itself." He snapped his fingers and a large circle of runes began to weave themselves around where he was standing.

"There is no need to do that."

The voice threw Harry off. He blinked allowing the spell he had begun to weave to falter. He turned to the speaker with a mix of curiosity and irritation. "Another angel? Swell. What do you want?"

"There is no need for you intervention." The angel reiterated. "I have just raised Dean Winchester's soul from perdition. Your interference is unneeded."

"Don't you know how to make a guy feel wanted?" Harry said snidely. "Your name?"

The angel stared at him for several minutes making Harry a bit more irate than he had started. "You are different from how my brothers described you." The angel offered but did not mention his name.

"How so?" Harry asked with interest.

"You do not feel like an abomination." He supplied easily the expression on his face giving no emotion.

Harry's eyebrows drew up in surprise. He let out a small surprised laugh. "I haven't met an angel as…pure as you are in a long time. Tell me, are your kind still calling it blasphemous to feel emotion? It would certainly explain the constipated look on your face."

The angel's expression did not change at all. "Why are you here?"

"I've made a deal with Sam Winchester." Harry said nonchalantly.

"You will not interfere in my work with Dean Winchester."

Harry held his hands up in mock surrender but he had a cocky grin plastered to his face. "Wouldn't dream of it feathers. I can call you feathers right? Seeing as you won't give me a name and I have to call you something."

The angels head ticked to the side in an almost adorable look of confusion. "I do not understand. You may call me Castiel."

"Castiel." Harry said his mind flipping through mental tomes of information. "The angel of Thursday. So if you don't mind my asking, why are the angels raising Mr. Winchester from hell in the first place?"

Castiel didn't answer and before he could a hand broke the surface of the ground near Harry's foot. Harry glanced down at it then back up to find the angel gone.

"So much for my questions." Harry muttered.

He gave one last glance to the dirty hand wandering about the ground trying to find purchase on something. With a final smirk Harry snapped his fingers and vanished leaving a bottle of scotch for the newly revived Winchester to find.

* * *

Bobby shot another look to Dean sitting at his kitchen table. It was still too surreal seeing him there. "So you're saying you just woke up in a-"

"In a pine box six feet under. Yes Bobby." Dean said with a sigh rubbing his hands through his hair. "I don't get it either. Sam's number's not working…he's not…"

"He's alive. As far as I know."

"Good... Wait, what do you mean, as far as you know?"

"I haven't talked to him for months."

"You're kidding, you just let him go off by himself?" Dean said incredulously.

"He was dead set on it."

"Bobby, you should've been looking after him."

"I tried. These last months haven't been exactly easy, you know. For him, or me. We had to bury you."

Dean had the sense to look abashed. He rarely saw Bobby show that much emotion. "Why did you bury me, anyway?" he asked desperate for the change of topic.

"I wanted you salted and burned. Usual drill. But... Sam wouldn't have it."

"Well, I'm glad he won that one. "

"He said you'd need a body when he got you back home somehow. That's about all he said."

" What do you mean?"

"He was quiet. Real quiet. And then he just took off. Wouldn't return my calls. I tried to find him, but he didn't want to be found."

"Oh, damn it Sam!" Dean said punching the wall. Sam may not want to be found, but he was going to be. Whatever he'd done set Dean on edge.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Dean to find out where Sam was. He knew the guy's habits like the back of his hand. He only wished he could have gotten there faster and that he didn't feel like he was making a trip back to his own grave. Of course Sam would be in Pontiac, Illinois the exact town where he had climbed out of a grave barely two days ago.

Dean glanced at the room number one more time before pounding on the door. The click of the lock rang through the hall and the door swung inward. A young woman stood there wearing nothing but a tank top and underwear. Dean swallowed a lump in his throat.

"So where is it?" she says looking first at Dean then Bobby.

"Where's what?" Dean asked looking at Bobby to see if he knew what the woman meant.

"The pizza…that apparently takes two guys to deliver."

"I think we've got the wrong room." Dean said clutching the small piece of paper in his hand harder. Apparently the girl at the front desk didn't know what she was talking about.

The door moved to swing shut as another figure moved into sight. "Hey is…" Sam froze as he caught sight of Dean standing there in the doorway.

"Heya Sammy." Dean said with a tinge of trepidation, but he pushed his way into the room regardless.

Sam lunged forward and Dean tensed, ready for a fight. Instead he found himself enveloped in a tight hug.

"So…are you two…together?" the woman by the door said giving them an off look.

"Huh? Oh, no." Sam said with a small laugh. "He's my brother."

"Right…well…I, uh. I think I should leave."

"Yeah. That's probably for the best." Sam agreed almost too quickly.

When she was gone the three left in the room sat about for a second. Bobby and Dean eyed Sam suspiciously.

"So what'd it cost you?" Dean asked eying Sam as if something about him might have altered physically to give him away.

Sam's eyebrows shot up. "The girl? Dean I don't pay." Sam said with a small laugh.

"No Sam!" Dean said vehemently. "To bring me back! What'd it cost you? Your soul? What I'm off the hook and you're on?"

Sam scowled. "No Dean. I didn't sell my soul, and trust me. I tried. No demon out there was willing to make a deal!"

"Then what Sam?" Dean had noticed that Sam hadn't straight up denied being involved. He'd simply said he hadn't sold his soul. It was a detail Dean hadn't overlooked. "Is it something worse? WHAT'D YOU DO?"

Sam reached into his pocket and held out a small card. He looked moderately abashed, but his eyes held a level of defiance that let Dean know that he thought what he did to be justifiable. Dean took the card and flipped it face up. He read the name twice before any semblance of recognition crossed his face.

"Harry Potter? That British prick from Wyoming?" Dean said with confusion.

"I take offense to that." The sudden addition of a body to the room didn't go unnoticed.

Bobby and Dean had guns drawn almost immediately and pointed in the direction of the room's newest addition.

"Mr. Winchester, it's nice to see you up and walking about. How was hell? Cherry?" Harry held out a small bowl filled with pitted cherries. At the disgusted look on Dean's face he shrugged. "More for me then. You called?"

Sam looked mostly at ease and Dean felt a pang of anger run through him. "You the one who Sam sold his soul to?"

Something flashed in Harry's eyes before he let out a sigh. "Honestly. You Winchesters are too alike for your own good. No. Sam did not sell his soul to me. I'm not some petty crossroads demon. I have no interest in human souls." He said taking a seat on the edge of the bed and crossing his legs as if he hadn't a care in the world even with three hunters in the room, two of which still had guns trained on him. "Besides, this," Harry gestured to Dean. "Isn't my handy work."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked in confusion.

"Your brother had a bit of assistance from another source right before I got down to the task of drawing him back up. From the look of it his ride was a lot more pleasant that way though." Harry stood simply letting go of the bowl of cherries and it vanished just before it could hit the floor. "I'm being called elsewhere. So, unless you have something else to discuss…"

"Who did it?" Dean said taking a step forward. "If you didn't pull me back then who did?"

"Ah, I'll give you a name if Sam keeps up his promise." Harry said with a smirk earning him equal glares from Bobby and Dean. Both turned their glares on Sam next.

"Fine." Sam agreed. "Who did it?"

"You're looking for-"

"No, absolutely not." Dean said stepping between the two and earning a frown from Harry.

"Dean, really. It's okay." Sam said with a frown.

"Okay?! It's 'okay' Sam!" Dean fumed.

"What did you even promise him boy?" Bobby asked stepping forward.

"A ring." Harry answered for Sam. "For now though I suppose I'll take Sam's willingness to work with me as a consolation prize."

"What does that mean?" Dean bit out.

"You're looking for Castiel." Harry said with a disinterested look. "I think I'll take my leave now. Good day gentlemen."

Bobby and Dean didn't seem to know what to make of Harry's sudden disappearing act. Sam looked unsure as he thought about the implications of an unknown pulling Dean from hell.

"What the hell Sam!" Dean blurted rounding on his brother.

"What?" Sam asked taking an involuntary step back.

"What? Sam what the hell was that? Why are you running around making deals!?"

"The guy wanted a ring. A ring! For your SOUL Dean!" Sam said throwing his arms out. "How could I not take that offer? How could I leave you in hell when all it took to save you was a ring? Don't you get it Dean?"

"Look you idjits. We've got bigger problems right now." Bobby cut in. "The Potter guy didn't pull Dean out of hell and that means this Castiel guy did."

"How do we know he wasn't lying Bobby?" Dean asked looking disbelievingly at the spot where Harry had so recently been standing.

"How many demons do you know that would set themselves up to lose a deal?" Bobby told him matter of factly. "In fact, I'd assume normally that a demon would say it was his work even if it wasn't just so he could keep the deal."

Dean calmed down a bit accepting Bobby's logic. "Okay. So how do we know he even gave us the right name?" Dean said crossing his arms over his chest.

"We summon it." Was Bobby's simple answer.

* * *

Sam leaned against the table staring at the summoning circle with something akin to frustration.

"Are you sure you did the summoning ritual right?" Dean said glancing at Bobby whose scowl deepened. "Right…sorry."

The wind picked up and all three hunters shared looks of trepidation. Dean hopped from the table he'd been sitting on and moved closer to the other two, eyes scanning the room for threats.

"Wishful thinking." Dean said backing up toward the wall shotgun raised. "But maybe it's just the wind?"

As if on cue the only doors in the shed they were occupying burst open revealing a man of medium height in a trench coat. He stalked in eyes glued to the three of them. As he got a bit close for comfort all three hunters opened fire. The bullets didn't even seem to faze him. He continued forward stopping in front of Dean who had grabbed the knife they'd stolen off of Ruby.

"Who are you?" Dean growled out.

"I am the one who gripped you tight and pulled you from perdition." The man said quiet evenly for someone who'd just been shot in the chest.

"Yeah. Thanks for that." Dean said striking fast with the knife.

The man looked down, completely unconcerned and pulled it out letting it drop to the ground. As Bobby went to take a swing the man caught his weapon and held it reaching out toward Bobby. Before his hand could make contact with Bobby's head Sam was there blocking the hand and pushing Bobby back. The man sighed turning back to Dean.

"Who are you?" Dean repeated trying to sound sure of himself despite the sense of dread filling him.

"Castiel." The man answered.

"Yeah, I figured that much. I mean what are you?" Dean bit out.

With a completely straight face he answered. "I am an angel of the lord."

Everyone in the room blinked, taken by surprise.

"Yeah…and I'm a ballerina." Sam snapped quietly.

Castiel turned his gaze to the larger brother. "I was not made aware of that particular pastime, but I fail to see its relevance to the conversation." Castiel's head tilted to the side.

"Why did you do it?" Dean cut in. "Why did you pull me out of hell?"

"Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you." Castiel answered.

"And the other guy?" Dean snapped. "He part of this work as well?"

Castiel looked momentarily confused. "I do not understand. What other man are you speaking of?"

"The guy my brother worked a deal with!"

A look of understanding crossed Castiel's face. "You mean Harry Potter."

"Yeah, the demon."

Castiel frowned. "Harry Potter is not a demon."

Dean blinked. "Then what is he? An angel?"

"No, he is a-"

"That's quite enough." All eyes turned to the doors where one Harry Potter was standing looking quite miffed. "You tell them a single thing more and I'll make sure you spend the next few centuries of your existence regretting it you bloody arrogant prick."

Dean was impressed with the amount of presence the guy had. He had to admit even Castiel seemed cowed by the man at the door. That didn't last long though.

"I'm afraid your threats are not needed." Castiel said turning. "I must leave now."

"Oh I'm sure." Harry bit out looking like a cat who'd been kicked awake.

A rush of air swept through the room and Castiel was gone.

"Wanker." Harry called after him, before turning his attention to the hunters. "Is there a reason someone in this room kept saying my name or do you like to simply invoke the contact spell I put on that card for no reason?"

Sam reached into his pocket producing the small card with Harry's name on it. He stared at it for a moment in disbelief.

"I'll take it this was an accidental contact then." Harry said looking annoyed. "Do try to keep the thing out of hearing distance of my name in the future unless you need me. I might not be as happy to help get rid of the angels next time."

"Wait." Dean said stepping forward. "You knew that guy?"

Harry threw him a glare. "I 'know him' to the extent of having met him a grand total of two times now. Neither time was he particularly chatty either." Harry threw at the man.

"Is he really an angel?" Sam asked eyes wide.

Harry folded his arms over his chest. "If I say 'yes'?"

"I'll think you belong in the loony bin. Nothing too dramatic." Dean said snidely.

"Have a nice day Mr. Winchester." Harry said with a venomous glare in Dean's direction before disappearing.

* * *

**Fewer time jumps this time around. They'll only become more sparse as we move into the actual plot of the fic. The first chapter was more of meet and greet. Let me know if I've kept all the Supernatural folks in character. (I know Harry's a tinge more aggressive than usual. Think book five if you gave him alcohol. XD)**

**I'm having fun with this story so far. Let me know what you think. 'Til next time guys!  
**

**~Kanathia  
**


	3. Ch 2: Abduxere de Testibus

**I am beyond amazed at the response this story garnered on its first day of release. I got some particularly amusing reviews which had me laughing and grinning like maniac for hours after having read them and I'd like to say thank you to everyone who took the time to write me one. I think I'm going to like writing in this fandom. **

**Despite preconceived notions you might have after having read fics in this section though I'd like to go ahead and tell everyone this won't be turning into a slash fic. I have nothing against slash it's just a stylistic preference (that's the fancy way of saying I'm inept at writing romance). This story is rated 'M' primarily due to adult language. You've been warned. ^.^**

**There will be evolving relationships between characters but that doesn't mean they're suddenly going to look into each other's eyes and have a hot make out session. Nope. Feel free to 'sense sexual tension' between characters to your heart's content though. I'd hate to crush anyone's dreams.**

**Episodes: 4.2 Are You There God? It's Me, Dean Winchester.**

**Thanks again for the reviews. I reply to reviews sometimes so don't be freaked out if I message you.**

**Warning: Lots of adult language in this chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Harry slammed his glass down on the polished wood of his desk. "The nerve of some hunters. Honestly, they think they're god's gift to humans. Ignorant, self important prats, the lot of them." He rumbled to himself as his office door opened. He chanced a quick glance up as he poured himself another glass.

"Is something wrong Mr. Potter?" Glenda's voice seemed strained. "You seem unhappy."

"Yes, I'm sure I do." He said rubbing a hand over his face and calming himself. "It's nothing. Did you finish the reports I asked you to do?"

She nodded placing the folders on his desk gingerly. She seemed concerned about his current demeanor but unwilling to budge into his personal problems.

"Thank you Glenda." He said downing his glass of scotch. "Why don't you take tomorrow off? Go on a long vacation with your family. I heard your son just got out of the hospital."

Glenda looked shocked that he knew anything about her personal life. "I…are you sure?" she said shifting feet.

Harry smiled up at her genuinely. "Of course I'm sure." He said. "You're a salary worker. Missing the day won't dock your pay so go ahead and enjoy yourself. You've been taking care of me too long."

She smiled brightly. "Thank you Mr. Potter." She said moving toward the exit.

"You're welcome Glenda. Have a good weekend." He said as the door slid shut.

He heaved a sigh. He hadn't slept in two days. Two damned days. Every time he closed his eyes he saw flashes of what was to be. It was damned annoying and he was getting tired of it. "Fucking angels."

He fully blamed Castiel for the little show that was going on in his head. After all, the damned angel was in more than half of the visions. Irritated he flung his glass at the wall quietly taking pleasure from its destruction. He exhaled again. This time he could see his own breath. His eyes narrowed. "What the-"

Something hit him from behind catching him off guard and his head connected solidly with the wooden desk. He felt his nose crunch sickeningly. He forced himself to roll away from the desk and whatever had hit him. He froze, blinking dazedly at the boy before him. Barely seventeen, the way too dead Cedric Diggory was standing there looking way too pissed. Harry blinked. "Oh man…I have _got _to stop drinking so much."

But he knew he was sober, or as sober as he could be after two bottles of scotch. Alcohol didn't do much for him these days. Cedric shifted to face him.

"You let me die." Cedric insisted. "You could have stopped them. You could have stopped me…but you didn't."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Look…kid." Harry said frowning. "I don't know if you've noticed, but magic doesn't leave a whole lot of reaction time. Besides, I was fourteen. What the hell did you want me to do?"

"Save me." Cedric said with a glare. "Save us."

Harry felt the icy feeling just as he was disapparating. Apparently he wasn't fast enough.

When his feet made contact with the ground he rolled feeling sharp pain in his back. "Fuck!" he yelled out trying to place a hand on the injury and failing. "I think he got my kidney."

Shuffling footsteps had him forcing himself to his feet and turning warily toward the person approaching. He just then took in his surroundings. Cars piled on top of each other in crushed stacks as far as the eye could see. He blinked back pain and confusion. A salvage yard? Why had he ended up in a salvage yard?

"Harry?"

Harry turned his eyes in the direction of the speaker and saw an antsy Sam holding a shotgun.

He put a hand to his forehead. "Fuck." He muttered. His magic must have sent him to the place he'd last been where it felt he had the highest chance of survival.

Sam moved past him seemingly finding his presence not as important as his mission. "Bobby?!" Sam yelled.

Harry winced at the sound. He tried to disapparate again but he didn't feel the pull on his magic. He was still firmly in the salvage yard.

"Bobby!"

"Oh for the love of-" Harry said wincing at the sound. He tried to cast an advanced point me spell and was surprised when it worked. "Over there." He said pointing to a specific car stack. He leaned heavily against the nearest car.

He watched Sam attack the trunk and pop it open only to get flung back and hit the nearest car's windshield quite heavily. Harry ignored him to focus on his injury. If he wasn't mistaken whatever had caused the pain was still…His fingers just barely brushed something. It was at too awkward an angle for him to reach. There was no hope he'd be able to pull whatever it was out on his own and with it still wedged in there he couldn't heal it. He tried to summon the item to his hand but it didn't work.

He looked up to see Bobby and Sam warily approaching. They must have noticed he was acting strange. It was pretty obvious. "You okay?" Sam asked moving closer than Bobby was willing to.

"I'm bloody fantastic." Harry bit out. "You want to get whatever the hell's stuck in my back out?"

Sam's eyes shot wide at that and he moved around. "That thing's right where-"

"My kidney is?" Harry snapped. "I'm aware."

"Let's get inside." Bobby said grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him toward the house with Sam's help.

Dean was waiting for them in the study. He eyed the new arrival to their forces with confusion, but when he saw the wound on Harry's back he stiffened.

"Bobby what do we do for a kidney injury?" Sam asked nervously.

"Normally?" Bobby said. "Leave it in there and get him to a hospital."

"Right now?" Sam asked.

"Just pull the bloody thing out." Harry snapped interrupting their conversation. "I can't reach it or I'd do it myself."

"You'll bleed out you idjit." Bobby said in disbelief.

Harry glared. "Pull. It. Out." He clenched his teeth as Sam hesitantly followed the command. He let out a ragged breath when he felt the thing was completely gone. He turned to Sam and spotted the offending object. "Well, bugger all. That was my favorite letter opener."

Sam just looked at him like he'd gone mad. Harry placed a hand near where the small object had penetrated his kidney and focused. His magic sputtered for a second, but it did heal the wound.

"Much better."

"Anyone want to tell me why Sean Connery is here?"

Harry couldn't help the smile that fixed on his face. "James Bond. Nice pick. I'm not entirely sure myself. Tried to apparate from my office when I got attacked. Somehow I ended up here instead of Tahiti. I think I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque."

Dean frowned and opened his mouth to argue but Sam cut him off.

"More pressing issues Dean." Sam said. "Why are people we know popping up and trying to off us?"

"Not just people we know." Dean offered. "People we couldn't save."

Harry didn't meet any of their eyes at the questioning gazes.

"I saw something on Meg." Dean continued. "Did she have a tattoo when she was alive?"

"I don't think so." Sam offered unsure.

"It was a mark on her hand. Almost a brand." Dean tried again trying to spark Sam's memory.

"I saw a mark on Henriksen too." Sam said thinking back.

"What did it look like?" Bobby asked stepping forward.

"Uh…paper?" Sam asked and began to scribble a rough draft of what he remembered before holding I up so Dean could identify it as the one he'd seen.

"Yeah. That's it." Dean said.

Harry just groaned burying his head in his hands.

"What's wrong with you?"

"The mark of the witnesses."

Sam and Dean looked lost, but the shock on Bobby's face might have been priceless in a less serious situation. Bobby turned and skimmed his shelves before grabbing a specific book. "Come on." He said shuffling to the door.

"Where are we going?" Dean asked with confusion.

"Some place safe." Bobby answered.

They made their way down some stairs and turned leading them through a basement and down a hallway that led to a large metal door.

"Bobby, is this-?"

"Solid iron. Completely coated in salt. One hundred percent ghost proof."

"You built a panic room?"

"I had a weekend off." Bobby said with a shrug.

"Bobby. You're awesome." Dean said with a smile stepping into the room.

Bobby and Sam hesitated glancing at Harry who was eying the large door with a frown. When he caught their stares he huffed but moved past them and into the room. "I'm not a fan of small spaces." Harry admitted.

"Well I guess he was telling the truth about being a demon." Dean said with a shrug.

"Thanks for the vote of support." Harry said with a frown. "I'll keep it in mind next time your soul needs dragging from the pit."

Dean's rebuke was cut off by Sam.

"What did you mean by the mark of the witnesses?" Sam asked as Bobby secured the door.

"The mark of the witness is found on people who died…abnormally." Harry supplied reluctantly. "Someone's dragging up the souls and they aren't happy about it, but the mark is a controlling device of sorts."

"They're being forced to attack. They're like rabid dogs." Bobby continued. "The mark of the witness occurs during the rising of the witnesses."

"The rising of the witnesses?" Dean asked loading rock salt into a shell.

Bobby nodded. "Whoever did this had big plans. It figures into an ancient prophecy."

"Wait, wait. A prophecy? From what book?" Dean cut in.

"Well, the widely distributed version is just for tourists, but long story short revelations. This is a sign boys."

"A sign? Of what?" Sam asked confused.

"The apocalypse."

"Wait. Apocalypse? The apocalypse, apocalypse? The four horsemen, pestilence, five-dollar-a-gallon-gas apocalypse?"

"That's the one. The rise of the witnesses is a mile marker."

"I've always hated Christianity. They have the most morbid ways of going about things." Harry supplied lazily from the chair he'd taken residence in.

"You wouldn't have anything to do with this would you?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"Yes, Dean. I like all my plans to revolve around stabbing myself in the kidney. No master plan is complete without that key detail." Harry said snippily.

Dean snorted.

"What do we do?" Sam said turning to Bobby and ignoring their bickering.

"There's a spell." Bobby said flipping through the book he'd grabbed on their way down. "It'll put the souls back to rest. If I translated right we've got everything we need in the house."

"I don't suppose we can do the spell here?" Dean butted in.

"What? You thought our luck was gonna start now?" Bobby said incredulously. "The spell has to be done over an open flame."

"The fireplace in the study." Sam supplied.

Harry smirked. "Fantastic."

"Doesn't have as much appeal as a ghost proof panic room." Dean said with a frown.

"I don't think bitching about it is going to make the situation change." Harry said pushing himself up from his chair. He was light headed but otherwise he figured he would be fine. "What do you say we go and put an end to these annoying fuckers? Well, another end." Harry added with a nonchalant shrug.

Harry flung the panic room's door open and stepped out.

Dean shared a look with Sam and Bobby. "That guy is seriously twisted."

"He's right though." Bobby said grabbing his book and following. "We need to work quick. Sam upstairs linen cabinet. There's a red box. Get it. Dean kitchen, silverware drawer. There's a false bottom."

They'd made it upstairs to see Harry standing by the unlit fireplace.

"Hemlock. Opium. Wormwood."

"Got it." Dean said as Bobby laid salt lines. He made toward the kitchen only to stop and glance back. "Opium?"

Bobby gave him an exasperated look. "Go!"

"Bobby." The small girl at the edge of the salt line called to the aged hunter. "You could have sa-"

Bobby heard a snap behind him and the two ghosts dispelled. Harry stood there glaring at where they had been before turning back to the fire place and arranging the wood he'd found to the side. "Is there a particular way the fire has to be lit?" Harry asked staring at the wood.

Bobby glanced over his shoulder. "No." He'd barely gotten the word out before flames leaped up the wood.

"Harry."

Bobby's head whipped around at the sound of another voice.

"You should have saved all of us." It was a woman in her twenties with long brown hair. Bobby thought she might be pretty if she tamed the mane down a bit.. "Why didn-"

Another snap this time not even dignified with Harry's turning around and the ghost disappeared.

The door to the kitchen slammed shut and Bobby glanced at it then Harry, unsure. "Dean!" Bobby called.

"I'm fine Bobby!" came Dean's reply. "Keep going!"'

Bobby turned his attention back to the bowls in front of him and he began preparing what ingredients he had in front of him. The less time they took once the boys were back with the rest the better. The spirits were sure to sense their intent at some point. His hands shook as he separated out what he needed.

Every time a ghost even started to manifest Harry would snap his fingers and send it packing much to Bobby's relief. He really didn't think he could concentrate while ghosts were harping him about his failures.

A gunshot from the kitchen told them that Dean was having his own encounter. Less than a minute later the door slammed open revealing Sam lugging a panting Dean. Both held their respective items out to Bobby.

Bobby hastily grabbed what he needed adding it to the bowl with the already prepared ingredients.

"What, no chicken feet?" Harry joked but it sounded strained to all of them.

Bobby shot him a half hearted glare before starting up a chant. The windows burst open the moment the first word had left his lips.

"Well, that's not good." Harry said as wind whipped through the room.

Apparitions seemed to come out of nowhere. Harry watched as Sam began to struggle with a moderately attractive blonde while Dean took on an overweight man. The little girls stood staring at the salt line which Harry had already deemed a lost cause. It would be gone in a few more seconds. Bobby's chanting became faster as he realized their urgency of the situation.

Harry snapped his fingers as the salt line finally broke. Cedric had been the first to try to cross and as such the first to dissipate. Harry turned his attention to the small girls trapping Sam. Bobby gave a pained grunt beside him and he turned only to see the bowl falling. "Dean!" Bobby managed to force out.

Harry snapped his fingers and the blonde woman disappeared as Dean caught the bowl.

"Fireplace." Bobby got out as he fell. Harry caught him before he could hit the desk.

Dean tossed the bowl in the lit fire and a new wind seemed to sweep through the room taking the spirits with it. Silence echoed for a second before Sam shoved a heavy desk which had been pinning him to the wall away and stumbled over.

Harry released Bobby and brushed off his suit, not that the thing was salvageable. A damn shame too. It had cost him more than some people made in a month.

"Well, that was mildly entertaining." Harry said with a huff.

Three sets of eyes turned on him incredulously. He shrugged. Dean's face slowly turned to one of hostility.

"So why are you here anyway?" He asked indicating the room.

"Watch your tone." Harry warned. "I'm not in the best of moods at the moment. I might decide you'd be better off without a tongue."

All three looked wary at that threat.

"You will not harm Dean Winchester."

Harry couldn't repress the groan that fought its way up his throat. "Oh god." He said rubbing his temples. "Not you again. What, ran out of baseball games to influence?"

Castiel's head tilted slightly belying his confusion at the statement. "I have not been near any human recreational sports." He turned to Dean. "Good job with the witnesses."

"Hullo." Harry said raising a hand in a sarcastic wave. "Not like he did it alone."

"Your help, while unexpected, was beneficial." Castiel admitted. "You have our gratitude."

"Fantastic. Gratitude. Just what everyone wants for Christmas. You can skip the Mercedes this year Santa." Harry stood from where he'd been leaning against the wall. "I don't suppose you can tell me why my magic went wonky and sent me here? You see, I have a few theories about it myself and none of them have anything to do with my magic doing it on its own. Now then, if you're ready to make your 'grace' stop interfering with my apparition skills I'm gonna jet. I have work to do after all."

Castiel looked mildly shocked. "You knew?"

"I had my suspicions. Thanks for confirming them. By the way," Harry moved closer to Castiel until he leaning only a few inches from the angel's borrowed face. "Mess with my magic again and you won't like the consequences." With that threat hanging in the air he disappeared.

The room seemed unnaturally tense after the Brit's departure. "Will he be okay?" Bobby finally spoke up slumping back into his chair. "He was stabbed after all."

Castiel seemed to contemplate the question for a moment. "He will be fine." He turned his attention to Dean when he spoke up.

"So you knew about all of this?"

Castiel's face remained completely blank. It disturbed Dean. "I was made aware of it, yes."

"Well gee. Thanks for the heavenly assistance. You know I almost got my heart ripped out of my chest. "

"But you didn't." Castiel said in a way that was not at all reassuring.

"I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wing, halos. You know Micheal Landon…not dicks."

Sam swore he saw just the slightest flicker of annoyance in Castiel's eyes but it didn't touch his face. "Read the bible. Angels are warriors of God. I'm a soldier."

"Yeah? Then why didn't you fight?"

"I'm not here to perch on your shoulder. We had bigger concerns." Castiel said moving a bit too close to Dean for comfort. Without so much as blinking Castiel stepped forward and placed his fingers on Sam's and Bobby's foreheads. They slumped in their chairs. "There's a reason I sent him here."

"What the hell did you just do?" Dean asked moving to his brother's side eyes flicking worriedly between Sam and Bobby.

"I've put them to sleep. It's only temporary."

"Why?" Dean's voice was laced with distrust.

"They mustn't hear what I'm going to tell you." Castiel took a step back. "We sent Harry here as a sort of test."

"A test?" Dean barked out laughter. "Well did we pass your heavenly test?"

"Not a test for you." Castiel said with a frown. "A test for him. We had to make sure he would aid you if push came to shove. We needed to know where his intentions lie."

"Well I hate to break it to you but the guy was definitely only helping so he wouldn't end up being stabbed in the kidney twice." Dean said derisively. "Can't say I blame him, but seriously what is he anyway?"

"I'm afraid I'm unable to tell you that at the moment."

Dean felt anger throttle through him full force. His argument with Castiel wasn't a pleasant from that point forward, and it ended on startling note when Castiel threatened to throw Dean back into hell shortly before his abrupt departure.

* * *

If Harry had been unhappy with the Winchesters before he was absolutely livid now. Dean in particular he'd grown to dislike. The guy was way too self involved. He tossed away the file he'd been reading on the two. Bobby Singer's file lay beneath a pile of others.

"Making friends everywhere you go."

Harry didn't even bother to raise his eyes from the dark wood grain of his desk. "What do you want Gabriel."

"Oh please. Don't call me that." Gabriel said in a pouting tone.

If Harry didn't have splitting head ache he might have humored the angel sitting in front of him, as it was he directed a particularly vicious glare his way.

"Oh, I know that glare. You've been hanging out with the Winchesters again." The angel said with a smile.

"What do you want? I'm not in the mood right now."

Gabriel stood and stretched forward placing a bottle of aspirin on the desk. Harry took one look at it and groaned. "Just came to drop off a gift. I heard you ran into my little brother and that you weren't too happy with him."

"You could say that." Harry said popping the top off of the aspirin and sniffing at the bottle. "These real or did you just magic them up like you do everything else? I don't need an imaginary cure."

"I grabbed them from the convenience store down the street." Gabriel said with a smile.

"Fantastic." Harry said popping several in his mouth and swallowing them dry. "Did you seriously come here just to check up on your 'little brother'?"

"You doubt my intentions." Gabriel said with mock shock.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'd be an idiot if I took you at face value all the time." He said sliding out of his chair. "I'm going home to sleep. If you want to talk we can do it tomorrow."

Gabriel shrugged. "I didn't really come to talk. Just the gift. Goodnight Harry."

Gabriel disappeared from the room moments before Harry himself did. The inconspicuous bottle of pills still lay on the desk forgotten.

* * *

Dean certainly wasn't in the best of moods, Sam noticed. He wanted to say something to his older brother but was worried that anything he said would set the hunter off.

Dean was pacing back and forth angrily in Bobby's study while the older man flipped through book after book to no avail. Every once in a while Dean would stop, look at Bobby and ask, "Anything?"

It was like a sort of routine he was developing and Sam could see it was starting to wear on Bobby's nerves and the last thing Sam wanted was to be in a room with two grumpy hunters. "I'm going to go grab something to eat." Sam offered.

"Pie." Dean said simply.

Sam knew the demand well enough and he smiled at the familiarity of it. He was still getting used to having Dean back. He had to keep reminding himself that the last week or so hadn't been some really long elaborate dream. "Right. You want anything specific Bobby." Bobby waved a hand dismissively, Sam's signal that he was fine with whatever. "I'll be back." He assured them as he made for the door.

Dean slammed himself onto Bobby's couch. "I don't get it." He said running a hand through his hair. "Why can't we find any lore on him? What is he anyway?"

Bobby shrugged closing another book. "I don't know. I've been looking for days and I can't find anything that matches his description."

Dean let out a frustrated sigh. "There's nothing? Not a single thing on the guy?"

"It's startin' to look that way." Bobby said pushing away the nearest stack of books like they were covered in anthrax. "I don't know why you're so obsessed with finding a way to kill him anyway. All he's done is help since he showed up."

"Because that's what we do Bobby. We find the supernatural freaks," He moved his hands from left to right. "and we gank them. It's that simple."

"I don't think it is that simple kid." Bobby said readjusting his hat. "The world's not made of black and white. There are grey areas. Maybe this Harry guy is one of them. Not everything is evil."

Dean scowled. "Well, I'm not going to trust him." He said stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest.

Bobby rolled his eyes. He was used to Dean being stubborn, but not this stubborn. Usually Bobby could talk reason into him. Bobby frowned. Dean was becoming more and more like his old man. It wasn't a trait Bobby could admit to admiring. He hoped he wouldn't have to threaten Dean with a shotgun like he had John someday.

Sam trudged back in about thirty minutes later carrying bags of food much to Bobby's relief. It wasn't that the man was particularly hungry. It was just that Dean always seemed to be in a better mood after eating. He sincerely hoped Sam hadn't forgotten the kid's pie. He didn't want to hear more bellyaching about Dean's favorite food being gone.

Bobby plopped himself into one of the dining room chairs. "So I take it you boys will be leaving again soon?" He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Sam and Dean were the closest thing he had to family, but he was certainly tired of Dean's attitude at the moment. He figured a hunt would do wonders for his attitude problem.

Sam looked to Dean as usual to make the call. Dean shrugged. "Probably in the morning."

* * *

**I decided to post this much earlier than I'd anticipated because of the positive reaction to the story. I got a thousand hits on its first day of release and I'm ecstatic about that. That's never happened before. Thank you guys for reading.**

**Drop me a review. I love reading them. 'Til next time!**

**~Kanathia**


	4. Ch 3: Angelus Sine Alis

**So I think I've finally worked out how I'm going to update this story. You get an earlier chapter every time I finish a later one unless I take longer than a week and a half. Then you get one even if I didn't finish the latest. That means you're guaranteed a chapter every week and a half at least for quite a while.**

**Next chapter will bring the end of season 4. Season 5 is the one I really wanted this story to go into, but I needed to the characters to have pre-established relations. I'm rambling. Just thought you might want to know why I fast forwarded season 4 to barely three chapters of content.**

**Episodes: 4.9 I know what you did last summer, 4.10 Heaven and Hell**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Dean took one glance at his phone and flipped it open. He hadn't been expecting a call from Bobby so it worried him that he was getting one. "Bobby? Is something wrong?"

Sam glanced up from where he'd been leaning against the bar. They'd stopped at the bar for some relaxation, and to make a few bucks. The moment he saw Dean's phone close he was asking questions. "Dean, what's up? Is everything okay with Bobby?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah Bobby's great."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Then why the sudden call?"

"Bobby took a trip out of country."

Sam gave him an incredulous look. "And?"

"He might have found something on Harry." Dean caught Sam's distracted gaze and followed it as he pushed past. "Damn it."

"Ruby." Sam said as he got close.

Dean placed a hand on Sam's shoulder pulling him back slightly. "Well don't you have a lot of nerve showing up anywhere near me." He said glaring.

"I just have some info, and then I'm gone." Ruby said raising her hands almost defensively.

"What is it?"

"I'm hearing a few whispers."

"Ooh, great, demon whisperers - that's reliable." Dean bit out.

Ruby ignored him. "Girl named Anna Milton escaped from a locked ward yesterday. The demons seem pretty keen on finding her. Apparently, some real heavy hitters turned out for the Easter-egg hunt."

"Why? Who is she?"

"No idea." She answered leaning back. "But I'm thinking that she's important, 'cause the order is to capture her alive. I just figured that whatever the deal is, you might want to find this girl before the demons do."

"Look, maybe we should check it out." Sam reasoned with Dean.

"Actually, we're working a case, but thanks." Dean said still glaring. Sure the news piqued his interest but he'd rather chew off his own leg than admit that to a demon.

"What case?"

"Uh, we've got leads, big leads."

"Sounds dangerous."

"Yeah, well, it sure ain't goose-chasing after some chick who, for all we know, doesn't even exist, just because you say she's important."

"I'm just delivering the news. You can do whatever you want with it. Far as I'm concerned, I told you, I'm done." She said pushing past Sam toward the exit.

"Wait, wait, wait. This hospital Anna escaped from - it got a name?"

* * *

Harry tilted his head to the side giving Gabriel a thoughtful glare. "You're serious?"

"Dead serious." He said holding up his hands and showing his fingers weren't crossed, though to Harry that meant little.

"You have no idea what this is all about either?"

Gabriel shook his head.

"Well that puts a stopper in my plans." Harry admitted.

"How so?"

"Well, as I see it I have a few options." Harry said leaning back in his chair. Gabriel had to admit he did the corporate badass vibe quite well. "Option one ignore the whole mess. I've discarded that as I'll probably be left with the clean up as I often am, one way or another. I could let the demons have her, but let's be honest. They're the ones who'd make the mess in the first place. I could let the angels kill her, but then I'm down one valuable object and bargaining chip. Finally I could step in and take her for myself. There is quite a bit of garnered interest around her."

"You make her sound like an antique."

Harry shrugged. "I have too many options." He said frowning. "And I have no idea what she is either. She could be a hot commodity because she knows valuable information, or she could just be interesting to both sides because she has a rare bloodline. Or maybe she's a great vessel. Holy hell the possibilities are over whelming."

Gabriel just smiled around his chocolate.

Harry rubbed his temples. "I suppose this means I'll have to go see what this is all about doesn't it?" he said voice full of remorse.

"I pity you." Gabriel said mockingly.

"You should." Harry said knowingly. "I'm about to put myself in between angels and demons who are squabbling about whose turn it is with the new toy. The last time I did that I became the subject of interest."

Gabriel nodded. He knew what Harry was referring to. He'd been one of the curious angels back then too. He met Harry's eyes and smirked. The man clearly hadn't forgotten his involvement, but he didn't mention it either.

Harry stood grabbing a coat from the wall. "Well, if I've learned one thing from roughing it with the Winchesters it would have to be 'don't wear your nice clothes'." Harry said pulling on the jacket. "They're liable to come out of the fray looked quite tattered. I'll be heading out now. I don't suppose you want to join me?"

Gabriel shook his head still smirking. "Good luck. You'll need it."

Harry muttered as he apparated away from his office.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Sam to find out that Anna Milton was indeed real, and she was indeed missing. They tracked her down to her church and from there things had gotten…complicated. They hadn't counted on demons popping out of nowhere. Powerful ones at that. They'd been lucky to escape relatively unscathed. Well, if you didn't count the stitches in Sam's arm and Dean's dislocated shoulder.

It hadn't taken long to get to the cabin Ruby had hidden Anna in. Sam only hoped that didn't mean it would be easy for the demons to find as well.

"They're coming!" Anna said in a near panic startling them all from their thoughts.

"Back room." Dean said leading Anna away while Sam and Ruby began grabbing things to defend themselves.

"Where's the knife?" Ruby asked checking the bag over again.

"Uh…about that." Dean said rubbing his neck.

"You're kidding." She said venomously.

"Hey, don't look at me." Dean said raising his hands and looking in Sam's direction. Ruby followed his gaze and directed her glare at Sam instead.

"Thanks a lot." Sam said sarcastically in Dean's direction.

A knock at the door wasn't exactly what they'd been expecting. Sam and Dean shared a glance. Sam nodded moving forward, gun drawn. He grabbed the door knob and pulled it open quickly revealing a slightly disheveled Harry.

"Oh please." He said looking at Sam's gun. "Put that away. You're going to hurt yourself."

Dean blinked. Harry looked dramatically different without the business suit. He was wearing dark jeans and a light blue button down. "What are you doing here?" Dean ground out suspiciously.

Harry smirked. "I heard you're hiding a sec…" Harry's eyes stopped on Ruby. He whistled lowly. "The Winchesters hanging out with demons. What has the world come to?"

"Answer the question." Dean pressured catching Ruby's nervous look.

"Well, you see. I've heard that you found that girl who has been clogging up the information channels for the past few weeks." Harry said buffing his nails against his shirt. "I figured, hell, why not figure out what all the buzz is about."

The door, which Sam had closed upon Harry's entrance, burst open. A moment later Castiel and Uriel rounded the corner.

"Fantastic." Harry snorted. "All of my least favorite people in the same room, well…most of them. This ought to go swimmingly."

Uriel focused on him immediately. "You shouldn't be here."

"Uriel, focus." Castiel reminded the other angel.

"Please tell me you're here to help." Dean said stepping forward. "We've been having demon issues all day."

"I can see that." Uriel supplied eying Ruby. "Care to explain why you have that stain in the room?"

If Ruby had looked uncomfortable upon Harry's arrival she looked damn near ready to bolt now.

"We're here for Anna." Castiel said focusing on Dean.

"Here for her…like, here for her?" Dean asked blinking back surprise.

"No, they want to take her to dinner and a movie." Harry snapped sarcastically.

"You're not going to help her?" Sam said in that overly trusting way of his.

Harry rubbed his temples.

"No, she has to die." Castiel said bluntly.

"Die?!" Sam's voice pitched up an octave.

"Move." Uriel said trying to go past Dean.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I get that she's been wiretapping your angel chats, but that's no reason to gank her."

"Don't worry. I'll kill her gently." Uriel said with a sadistic smile

"You're some heartless sons of bitches you know that?" Dean bit out.

"As a matter of fact we are. And?" Castiel questioned.

Harry laughed whole heartedly at that confusing everyone in the room. "Ah…sorry." He said placing a hand on his own chest and breathing deeply. "Keep going. It's cute."

Castiel frowned uncomprehendingly. Uriel made a move to pass again but Sam blocked him. "Anna's an innocent girl."

"She's far from innocent." Castiel corrected.

"What's that mean?" Sam said straightening to his full height even if he didn't think it would intimidate and angel.

"It means she's worse than that abomination you've been screwing." Uriel supplied. "Now give us the girl."

"Sorry. Find another one. Try Jdate."

"Who's going to stop us? You two? Your demon whore? The blasphemer in the corner?" Uriel said grabbing Ruby and throwing her into the wall.

"Oh. Blasphemer." Harry said nodding, a hard glint in his eyes. "Original."

Castiel advanced on Sam as Dean took on Uriel. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this." Uriel said punching Dean in the jaw.

"Cas…please…" Sam begged, but Castiel didn't stop and merely tapped the taller man on the forehead knocking him unconscious. Castiel stopped when he saw Harry standing in front of the door.

"I do not wish to harm you." Castiel said obviously meaning he wanted Harry to step aside. Castiel's head dipped to the side when Harry made no move to stop his advance. "Why are you here?"

"Curiosity." Harry said a snide smile working its way onto his face. "It's my one personality flaw."

A bright light filled the room and suddenly Castiel, Uriel, and Harry were gone.

"What the-?" Dean said blinking. Dean moved toward the back room seeing Sam stir. "Anna?" Dean's eyes grew wide at the sheer amount of blood covering the dresser in front of her.

"Are…are they gone?" she asked, seemingly in shock.

"Did you kill them?"

"No. I sent them away." She said sounding a tad unsure. "Far away."

"You want to tell me how?" He asked anger spiking.

"That popped in my head." She nodded to the mirror attached to the dresser where a sigil was drawn in her blood. "I don't know how I did it. I just did."

Dean shook his head taking Anna's arm. The cuts weren't terribly bad but she'd been lucky she hadn't killed herself. The amount of blood on the dresser was scary. "Come on." Dean said helping her stand. "We'll get this cleaned up."

* * *

Both Winchesters were suspicious of Anna. She knew way too much. It was no wonder the angels wanted her dead, but Castiel had said she wasn't innocent. What had that meant?

And then there was Harry. He'd shown up without any explanation and vanished just as quickly. It raised questions about his origins if a sigil meant to ward off angels affected him.

"So what do we do?" Sam asked propping himself up on Bobby's kitchen table. They'd made the short trip there so they could be, 'safe', as Dean had called it. Sam wasn't sure what the panic room would do against angels.

Dean shrugged. "We could call that psychic friend of Bobby's, see what she can do."

"I don't know how I feel about involving even more people in this Dean." Sam said with a frown.

"What choice do we have Sam?" Dean asked popping open a beer. "We need answers and no one else can get them. It'd be nice to know why she went bonkers in the first place."

"Why don't you just ask me to my face?" Anna asked standing in the doorway.

Dean felt like slapping his hand across his face. "Nice job watching her." He spit at Ruby who rolled her eyes.

"I am watching her."

"No, you're right. Anna is there anything you want tell us?" Sam took over. He was always better with the whole nice routine anyway.

"About what?"

"The angels said you were guilty of something. Why would they say that?"

"She doesn't know."

Dean had his gun out and pointed towards the speaker in half a second.

"Impressive reaction time." Harry said stepping into the kitchen's lighted area. "But if I have to tell you Winchesters not to point your guns at me one more time today I'm going to end up breaking one of your wrists."

Dean glared but slowly lowered the gun. "How did you find us so fast?"

Harry took two steps forward and stuck his fingers into the pocket of Dean's shirt. He withdrew them a second later holding a small business card.

"How many of those things do you have?" Dean asked, disgusted that Harry had gotten close enough to slip something on him without his knowledge.

"You realize that if you find the right printer business cards only cost ten dollars for about three hundred." Harry said shaking his head. "I'd hook you up with the number of my printer, but somehow I doubt 'hunter of the supernatural' would come across with flying colors when you hand out your contact info."

"I don't mean business cards!" Dean said indignantly. "I mean magical…tracking…you know what…never mind. What are you doing here?"

"Did you come to kill Anna?" Sam asked suddenly a bit nervous. He doubted he'd get off with a simple tap to the head and unconsciousness if they fought Harry.

"_Kill_ Anna?" Harry said placing a hand on his chest in mock indignation. "Why it's like you think I'm a heartless villain or something."

"Or something." Dean agreed under his breath, but if the glint in Harry's eye was any indicator he'd heard.

"No, I didn't come to kill Anna." Harry spat out. "I came out of curiosity. You see _all_ of my information networks are just buzzing about this 'Anna' chick. So I thought I'd pop by and see what it was all about. Clearly it was a waste of my time though." He said with a roll of his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Anna asked staring at him in a way that made him uncomfortable.

"I mean that you're much less 'spectacular' than I thought you'd be." Harry huffed. "Honestly you wouldn't be worth the effort of trafficking. There're very few demons I'd trust enough to deal with and none of them would be particularly interested in you."

"You know something that you're not telling us." Sam caught on.

Harry blinked. "Well I do now." He said with a shrug. "I had my suspicions before but they were definitely solidified when I saw her, and-" He cut off giving Anna an odd look when she placed a hand on his face. He hadn't really been paying her attention and she had crossed the small space between them while he'd been talking.

"Uh…Anna?" Dean said giving the two of them an odd look of his own. "You want to explain why you're feeling the British guy up?"

"You can't see it?" she asked pulling her hand back slowly. Harry stepped away eying her warily.

"See what Anna?" Sam asked glancing between the two.

"His real face."

"His real face?" Dean scoffed.

Anna just nodded. "Like with Ruby and the other demons. I could see their true faces…and I can see his."

"So he is a demon!" Dean said leveling his gun again.

"No!" Anna said shaking her head. "He's not. I don't…I don't know what he is." She admitted.

If scowls could create storms there would be a tornado in Bobby's kitchen courtesy of Harry. "Fun as this has been kiddies I think I'm gonna jet. I've had enough weird for one day." And he was gone just like that.

Dean heaved a sigh. "What the hell is going on!"

"Anna what exactly did you see when you looked at him?" Sam asked curiously.

"Light." She said at first as if thinking about how to describe him. "It was beautiful."

"Like an angel?" Sam asked hopefully. They'd been trying to peg down what the guy was for so long. Maybe he'd been an angel the whole time.

She shook her head. "No…and yes." She said frowning. "It reminded me of the light I saw coming from the angels…but different. It seemed kinder."

"Kinder." Dean scoffed. "Well, he didn't want to kill you, maybe he just toned down the angel juice."

Sam shook his head at his brother. "He seemed to know who Anna is though."

"Yeah. He also said he had demon contacts. The guy's bad news Sam."

"Dude…Ruby." Sam said gesturing to the demon in the room who held up her hands obviously wanting no part in the argument. "Maybe, but we could just-"

"Forget it Sam." Dean said taking a swig of beer. "We're calling that psychic chick…Pamela or something like that."

Sam scowled. "Fine."

* * *

Sam blinked. Anna was an angel? A freaking angel? She was being hunted by her own kind, and for what? Disobedience. If that was a sin punishable by death Sam should be dead a thousand times over by then. He disobeyed everyone eventually. Hell, didn't everyone?

"So we're stuck in the middle." Dean summed up nicely.

"It's a battle between heaven and hell and we're holding the prize." Ruby said throwing up her hands. "We're just begging for death right now."

"I'm sorry." Anna said looking a bit sheepish.

"Maybe we could ask Ha-"

"For the last time 'no' Sam!" Dean cut Sam off. "Why are you so hell bent on getting the guy's help anyway?"

"Because he's not on either side Dean!" Sam countered. His voice was louder now, not willing to be silenced by his older brother. "And he's helped before! Maybe he'll help again if we give him the chance. Why are you so scared to ask him for help!?"

Dean blinked, before leveling a fierce glare at Sam. He opened his mouth to argue only to stop when Anna spoke.

"He's right. We should ask for help. I'm not sure he will help, but it's worth a shot. He usually remains neutral."

Dean blinked. "You know what he is?"

Anna nodded. "He's less of a 'what' and more of a 'who'."

"Alright, and?" Dean bit out when she didn't continue.

She shook her head. "Perhaps afterward, but he's more likely to help if I haven't told you."

"Why?" Sam asked curiously.

"He likes his secrets." Anna said looking apologetic. "There's a reason he doesn't tell people."

"Whatever." Dean said waving a hand at Sam. "I'm guessing you've still got his magic card?"

Sam looked hesitant to admit that he did, but he pulled it from his shirt pocket. Dean gave the thing a dirty look. "Harry Potter."

A minute passed. Then two more in complete silence. "Guess he's not coming." Dean said trying not to sound as happy as he felt.

"Guess again."

Dean jerked but had sense enough not pull his gun.

"What do you blundering idiots want?" Harry asked stepping nearer to the cabin where the light could hit him. He was wearing his suit again. "I was about to take a plane to Russia for a business conference. Now I've had to cunfund an entire airline staff into thinking there's a passenger on the plane when there isn't."

"Yeah. Sounds tiring." Dean scoffed.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "It's not particularly. Dealing with you, however, I find exceedingly draining. It takes concentrated effort to dumb down my sentences enough for you to understand them."

"Dean." Sam warned when it was obvious Dean was about to snap back.

Harry turned his gaze to Sam. "Why did you call me?" he asked with a frown. "And it had better be a good reason or I'm going to get angry."

"I would say 'you wouldn't like him when he's angry', but I already don't like him now." Dean spat out.

Harry snapped his fingers. "Hush now. The grownups are talking."

Dean opened his mouth to respond only to find he made no noise.

"That's not…permanent…is it?" Sam asked nervously.

"No, but I could sever his vocal chords if you find you like the change." Harry offered with a grin. "I find it quite soothing myself."

Dean glared.

"We were hoping you'd help me." Anna finally spoke up.

Harry turned his attention on her. He seemed to consider it for a minute. "I don't work for free sweetheart." He said crossing his arms. "Just because you're an angel doesn't mean you get a freebie. Or perhaps I should say because you're an angel."

"What do you want?" Sam asked confused.

Harry paused to consider it. "Well, in all honesty while you Winchesters are all the hype information wise you're not exactly rolling in items I'd like to acquire." He said pausing and then smiling wickedly. "Although I've heard you've recently come by a dagger that can kill demons. Now that's something that could fetch a hefty sum."

"No deal James Bond." Ruby said stepping forward. "The idiots lost the knife, and even if they hadn't I wouldn't let them give it to you."

Harry's smile faded just the slightest bit. "Big words coming from the biggest traitor in hell. Do you know how many demons would pay untold sums just to know where you are?" He asked stepping forward and tapping her on the nose. "Consider it good faith that I haven't sold you out already. Yes, I noticed you trying to slink into the background earlier. You really must work on hiding that ridiculous stench that seeps off of your kind. It's stomach turning." He sneered.

Ruby looked good and wary now. Just what he wanted.

"Is there anything else?" Sam asked with a sigh figuring Harry would tell them no and then disappear.

Harry turned a smile on him. "I'm feeling generous tonight Sam." He said splaying his hands. "I'm willing to rehash our old deal."

"The ring?" Sam asked confused.

"What ring?" Ruby asked warily.

"Oh, you'll know which ring. Trust me."

"You can't mean _that_ ring." Anna said eyes wide.

Harry smiled. "Indeed." He said rubbing his ring finger.

"Then."

"Yes." Harry said cutting her off.

"Would you stop talking in riddles!?" Dean yelled and then seemed surprised that he could talk at all.

Harry turned amused eyes on him. "They're hardly riddles."

"If you want Sammy to get this ring for you you're gonna have to tell us more about it. For all we know handing it to you could mean the end of the universe or something." Dean said angrily.

"Oh hardly." Harry scoffed. "I've owned it before and you still exist don't you?"

At their disbelieving looks Harry sighed but shrugged.

"You won't find the ring yet. It's not even on Earth." Harry started.

"Where is it then?" Dean asked.

Harry glared. "Hell. Don't interrupt me again unless you enjoy being unable to speak." He watched Dean rub his throat before continuing. "In a few months the seals will fall."

Sam let out a gasp that Harry chose to ignore.

"When they do you'll end up looking for four rings. I only want one of them. Its stone is white."

"Why is the ring in hell?" Dean asked warily.

"It's sealed up down there with its temporary owner." Harry spat the last two words as though he'd tasted something foul.

"Lucifer?" Sam asked fearfully.

"No." Harry answered blankly. "Death."

That garnered a few astonished looks.

"Alright." Harry said waving his hand. "That's enough story time for now. Do we have a deal or not?"

"Yes." Sam said slightly unsure. He'd been positive last time as it had been Dean's soul in the balance. Anna was different, but he couldn't let her die if he had the power to stop it right?

"Fantastic." Harry said with a smile. He snapped his fingers and Anna clutched her chest emitting a squeak of pain.

"What was that?" she said clutching at her ribs.

"Enochian sigils." Harry said with a shrug. "I doubt you'll need them once you've relearned how to control your power, but for now…" He shrugged. "They'll ward you from angels."

"Great." Dean said caustically. "But what about the demons?"

"You think they have a good way to find her?" Harry scoffed. "The only way they're finding her is if she sends the invitation. I may have agreed to protect her but I can't take away free will. If she wants them to kill her I say good riddance."

"Guys." Anna said hand floating up to her head and interrupting whatever Dean was about to say. "The angels are talking."

"What are they saying?" Sam asked wide eyed. It couldn't be a coincidence that they'd started talking right after Harry had hidden Anna right?

"It's a message. Like a loop." She said frowning. She opened her eyes and fixed Dean with a stare. "It says Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight….or we hurl him back into damnation."

Harry grimaced. "Troubling news." He clapped his hands. "Well, we'll be on our way won't we Anna." He held out his hand to her.

She stared back with shock.

"You agreed to help!" Sam argued.

"I agreed to help Anna." Harry countered. "Which is best done with her out of sight. I do wish you the best of luck climbing back out of hell though Dean. Wretched place, could do with a few less hooks."

Ruby scoffed. "As trustworthy as a demon." Then she was kneeling on the ground writhing.

"I take insult to that." Harry said eyes blazing.

"Stop." Sam pleaded stepping in front of Ruby. "Please."

Harry blinked and Ruby fell onto her hands panting. "Cute Sam. Sticking up for the one who will lead you into damnation. Cute."

"I'm staying here." Anna said garnering Harry's attention.

"I don't think so love." Harry said swinging a small bag back and forth.

"Is that our hex bag?" Dean asked looking at the thing warily.

"That it is." Harry said pocketing the small bag. "You see Anna. It makes my job much easier for you to be in a safe room."

"I don't care how easy your job is." She said crossing her arms. "I got the Winchesters into this and I won't leave them now."

Harry let out a sigh. "Of course not." He tossed the hex bag to Sam. "I assume you're staying in the ramshackle cabin? Fantastic. I'll be inside ramming my head against a wall until the danger comes."

Three of the four left watched him swagger off toward the entrance. Dean's eyes were glued on Ruby. He was itching to put a few bullets in her, but he knew it wouldn't do anything to the demon inside the meat suit.

"What did he mean?" Dean asked still focused on Ruby.

"You're going to have to be more specific sparky." Ruby said when she realized his eyes were on her. "That guy's a bag full of crazy. It's not like I'm in tune with his deeper meanings."

"He said you'd lead my brother to damnation!" Dean said accusingly. "Or did you just happen to forget that little tidbit?"

"Dean calm down." Sam said placing his hands on Dean's chest when he made to lunge for her. "We don't know what he meant. Maybe he's wrong."

"He didn't sound like the type who's wrong often Sammy!" Dean said glaring at his brother for defending the demon.

"Yeah? Well he also said that the seals would break Dean!" Sam snapped back. "The angels and us. We're all trying to stop that!"

"Now's not the time to fight amongst ourselves." Anna said placing a placating hand on Dean's shoulder. "We'll have plenty of time to deal with this later. For now we should get inside. I'm sure he's warding the place despite what he said."

"Great." Dean said shrugging off the angel's hand and stalking angrily toward the door.

* * *

Harry sat in an overlarge arm chair rubbing his temples. No one had said a word to him since reentering the cabin, but he could feel Sam's eyes burning into his back every once in a while. He dutifully ignored the man in favor of the blissful silence which had permeated the air.

He counted himself thankful that, at the very least, the morons he'd agreed to protect hadn't gone gallivanting about inviting demons in to find Anna.

He let out a sigh as the large doors that took up and entire wall flung inwards. Castiel and Uriel stood in the doorway. Uriel looked a little too smug for Harry's liking. It just so happened Harry's chair had been facing their direction too so he got to see the angel's over dramatic entrance. He would give it a three out of ten. It needed work. It lacked a snappy one liner or explosion.

"It's good to see you again Anna." Castiel said nodding in Anna's direction.

"How did you find us?" Sam asked confused and glancing over at Harry.

Harry raised his hands in mock surrender. "The sigils are working. Don't look at me." Harry said with a surprising amount of disinterest.

"Dean?" Sam said taking in his brother's guilty look.

"I'm sorry." He said not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Why?"

"Because they gave him a choice. They either kill me….or they kill you." Anna said gazing knowingly at the other two angels in the room.

"I always did like ultimatums myself." Harry added a bored look on his face. Dean shot him a glare which he smiled at.

"I'm sorry." Castiel started.

"No you're not. Not really. You don't know the feeling." Anna bit out rather harshly eliciting a low whistle from Harry.

"Hitting below the belt this early? Play fair Anna, you should know angels have emotions. After all, they caused you to fall didn't they?" Harry said finally standing. The chair he'd been occupying vanished into nothing. "I prefer to think that you're all just emotionally retarded. IE you have no idea what the feelings mean." He wiggled his fingers to emphasize.

Castiel was giving Harry a curious look. "You must not interfere. We have-"

"Orders?" Anna cut in.

Castiel nodded.

"Don't you touch a hair on the poor girl's head."

Harry turned to the room's newest addition and groaned. "Not you." He said lip curling in disgust. He stood corrected as well. Apparently the morons _had_ invited demons to this little shindig.

"How dare you come into this room you pussing sore." Uriel spat.

Harry rolled his eyes. Well that statement had certain clarified why the angels hadn't had a snappy one liner. Clearly their wit had shriveled and was in danger of turning into dust.

"Name calling. That hurt my feelings...you sanctimonious, fanatical prick." The demon quipped back.

Harry had to admit he'd choose the demon's side if this was a war in insults. "Now, now girls. You're both very pretty." Harry said patting the air and earning a snort from Dean despite the situation. "But if you wouldn't mind leaving I'd appreciate it. You see, I've decided Miss Anna here would make an interesting acquisition."

"Mr. Potter." The demon said rounding on him as he tossed an injured Ruby to the side. "What an…honor. I haven't seen you since you were on my rack downstairs. Fun times."

Harry glared. San and Dean turned amazed looks on Harry. The guy was a walking mystery and only more seemed to be added as time went by. "Alistair." Harry greeted cordially despite the glare. "If you'd kindly go fuck yourself I'd be happy to move on with my life. As far as I recall anyway you never really got far on the 'breaking me' bit."

Now Dean's eyes were locked on the demon.

"You know who we are." Castiel said stepping forward and directing his speech at Alistair and his demon buddies. "And you know what we will do. I won't say it again, leave or we will lay you to waste."

"I think I'll take my chances." Alistair said drawing his eyes from Harry to the angel.

Harry rolled his eyes as Castiel took a few steps forward and laid a hand on Alistair's head. Uriel ran forward, none too gracefully, and began to fight the two lackeys the demon had brought along. Castiel had his hand pressed against Alistair's head for several seconds before he realized it wasn't doing anything. Astonished eyes took in the fully intact demon in front of him.

"Sorry kiddo." Alistair said shoving Castiel to the ground. "Why don't you go run to daddy."

Harry rolled his eyes at the whole charade grabbing the second demon which Uriel hadn't gotten around to yet. He twirled a dagger in his hand before plunging it into the base of the possessed man's skull. He watched as the sparks signifying the demon's death spread through the body before he retrieved the weapon wiping of the blood on the man's pant leg.

"Potestas inferna, me confirma. Potestas inferna, me confirma!" Alistair chanted shaking Castiel with one hand held snuggly to the angel's forehead. Harry could see the unfocused look in Castiel's eyes signifying that the exorcism would begin to work its magic soon.

He spotted Dean looking about frantically for a weapon eyes flicking to Castiel worriedly. Harry found that curious. He hadn't thought that the Winchesters got along with the angels. Particularly after this display. He grabbed the back of Alistair's shirt and tugged him away from Castiel allowing the angel to fall back and take deep breaths.

"Alistair."

"Harry." Alistair greeted with a smug smile. "It's been a while since we've had the time to play. We should make up for that."

"I have a better idea." Harry said smiling and shoving his hand forward. The moment it touched Alistair's body black smoke billowed out of the man's throat. "Go to hell."

"Close your eyes!"

A blinding light filled the room. Harry blinked turning to the source. He squinted as the light seemed to reach its brightest point before fading. He let out a sigh but took Anna's disappearance as his cue to vanish.

* * *

**I'm still absolutely amazed by the reaction to this story. The sheer number of people that have been reading it each day is astounding. It broke 1500 last time I checked. That's freaking insane to me as some who used to write stories that got maybe five hits a day. You guys are fantastic. Thank you for reading, and for the reviews and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!**

**'Til next time!  
**

**~Kanathia  
**


	5. Ch 4: Quando Satanam Suscitat

**Absolutely amazing amount of views last chapter. We broke 2000 guys, and as of right now I just got the email stating I have my 200th follower for this story. I'm just really freakin shocked. Thank you all for following, favoriting, and reviewing. I'm glad you're all enjoying it. That said this is the finish up chapter for season 4.  
**

**Four episodes this time around. Really good ones though.**

**Episodes: 4.16 On the Head of a Pin, 4.17 It's a Terrible Life, 4.21 When the Levee Breaks, 4.22 Lucifer Rising**

**Enjoy**

* * *

It took a while to track Anna down now that she was short a human vessel, but Harry was nothing if not creative. He'd offered to make her a recreation of her human vessel for a price and she'd readily agreed as she couldn't make much contact with the physical world as she was. Harry was starting to understand why demons had it so easy in convincing humans to sign away their souls. Everyone wanted something it was just a matter of finding someone with enough conviction to fight for what they wanted.

Harry would happily admit that he hadn't heard from the Winchesters in quite a while. A fact he was cherishing. He had had quite enough of the two with their dopy expressions and constant nagging. He was much happier without them around thank you very much.

It was only a month or two after Harry had made Anna's vessel that some disturbing news started to filter through his information channels. Angels were dying. Left and right humans were finding unexplained corpses with the strangest imprints of wings behind them. It was the sign of an angel killed while in a human vessel and it didn't bode well for Harry.

Angels didn't make up a particularly large portion of his clientele, but they were rarely killed by the weak willed. If there was something out there killing angels that meant he was in danger too. Contrary to popular belief he could die, but the road to a permanent, or perhaps semi permanent was a more apt description, death for him was much more unpleasant and complicated than it was for most others and he wasn't keen on seeing hell again so soon.

"Harry."

The voice sounded out of place in his office. He wasn't used to visitors of the heavenly variety. Well, unless you counted Gabriel, and Harry certainly didn't. Still he put on a charming smile. "Castiel." He said leaning back in his chair. "What brings you here?"

"I'm sure you know." Castiel answered without meeting Harry's eyes.

Harry let his head tilt to the side. "You seem different." He said examining the angel. Castiel still refused to look at him straight.

"The angels." Castiel said moving toward the window, most likely to give himself something to stare at besides Harry.

"I assume you mean the dead ones." Harry said leaning back.

Castiel nodded. "We need information."

"Then you've come to the right place." Harry said gathering his papers with a smile. "What do you want to know?"

"Is it a demon?"

Harry scoffed. "You and I both know the demons don't have the skill set or the know how to start killing off angels." His voice was cynical. "That was a stupid question so I won't charge you for the answer."

Castiel nodded as if he had anticipated, yet feared that answer. "We have Dean getting answers right now."

"Dean?" Harry asked incredulously. "How? Wait…my answers aren't good enough?"

"We captured Alistair." Castiel said ignoring the second part of the statement. "Dean is…"

"Torturing him?" Harry asked filing away his paperwork. His tone was nonchalant but his expression was dark. "I've heard about him you know. I hear a lot of things in my line of work. Hell, if a person of interest so much as sneezes I know about it, and let me tell you Castiel. Dean is most certainly a person of interest."

Castiel looked caught somewhere between shocked and uncaring. Harry knew it was a front.

"Do you really think it's wise?"

"What?" Castiel asked nonplussed.

"Letting him torture Alistair." Harry said plopping back into his chair and pouring out a small bit of scotch. "The souls of men are easily twisted. It's how demons were created in the first place. He, in particular seems weak."

"Weak?" Castiel seemed curious about Harry's assessment.

Harry glanced up. "How long do you think I spent in hell Castiel?"

Castiel didn't answer. Instead he seemed to want to think of anything besides that.

"Hell isn't an easy place to exist. There's fire, hooks, razors. Every horror you could imagine packed into a tiny shoebox of unpleasantness." Harry said knocking back his drink and lining up another. "I don't blame him for cracking."

"Then why call him weak?" Castiel seemed genuinely curious.

"Because all men are weak Castiel. It's the way your beloved God made us." Harry said 'god' with disdain. "But Dean, Dean is the physical embodiment of desperation. The kid sold his soul because his brother couldn't ride around in his car solving mysteries with him. Harsh, I know." Harry added when he saw Castiel open his mouth. "But if you think from a logical standpoint it wasn't Dean's giving into Alistair's offer that led to the first seal breaking. It was his making the deal that sent him to hell in the first place."

Castiel had no counter to that. It was the truth.

"Now, I recommend you go have a little pow-wow with your angel buddies and talk about which one of you is going about offing the others. It's obvious one of you is doing the killing. Stop…" Harry said when Castiel made to argue. "I don't really care about your denial. Start thinking instead of being blind and maybe you'll see the truth before it slaps you in the face. I'm tired. Good night Castiel."

He snapped his fingers and Castiel was gone. He wasn't particularly tired, but talking with the angel was giving him a headache. He had to admit though, the guy was growing on him.

* * *

Three weeks passed in which Harry was able to do his usual business. He happily obliged the part of him that liked the repetition of paper work. It wasn't often that he was able to do stuff like this himself. Usually he was jetting all over the country looking for priceless objects or selling information to a broker. Lately he'd been cleaning up messes from the Winchester brothers too, adding to his work load.

At first he hadn't been sure why he found himself drawn to the two idiots. He wouldn't be obligated, under normal circumstances, to respond to a call from one of his business cards. In fact, he usually didn't respond if he found the person particularly distasteful. Once again fate was stepping in, and he meant that literally. One of the three fates had paid him visit a week ago to inform him that she wanted him watching the Winchesters. Why? Well, supposedly they were messing with destiny. Screwing up her time charts in a literal sense.

Harry had all but booted her from his office when she'd demanded he 'march his ass down there and kill them now' like she was his boss or something. He'd proceeded instead to pour himself a scotch and verbally berate her for at least an hour. The 'fates' had royally screwed him in life, even if he was quite content with his current position, it wasn't like he owed them any favors. Besides, even fate couldn't demand action from death. Death was sort of a rule all.

And 'death' was a good title for Harry. No, he wasn't _the_ 'death'. He didn't run the show. He was more like a guide. Think reaper, but visible to humans and with a grudge against the world. There was a reason angels feared him, demons too. Humans…well, they seemed blissfully ignorant to his powers. Which was probably why his best business came from humans, and why it was so easy to get what he wanted from them. They were weak willed and with a few temptations thrown their way they were putty in his hands.

Harry felt a twinge, letting him know someone had activated one of his calling cards. With a sigh he leaned back and stretched. No need to rush after all. Good things came to those with the virtue of patience. He gazed to his paperwork, nearly done, on his desk and shrugged. The call could wait a few hours right?

* * *

Harry straightened his suit as he landed just outside of a large skyscraper that marked the skyline of Columbus Ohio. He raised his eyebrows. Who the hell would have called him all the way out here? Eying the tall building he shrugged and stepped inside and eyed the interior. It was nicely decorated, if a bit plain for Harry's taste. He certainly looked the part to be there in his suit. He glanced around for a familiar face.

Sirens wailed outside and then Harry found himself in the middle of rushing paramedics. He stepped to the side allowing them to pass into the elevator. He watched the small numbers light up one by one after the doors had slid closed. When they stopped he smiled. "May as well follow the commotion. I doubt it's unrelated."

He hadn't expected what he found. The body of a nondescript Caucasian male lay drenched in his own blood in a bathroom. A pencil was wedged firmly in his carotid artery. The guy had superb aim if he'd done that himself, but it wasn't the dead man that attracted his attention. It was one of the men stood off to the side talking with the police. His striped shirt and suspenders nearly made Harry laugh. It looked out of place on the normally ruggedly dressed man. No, Dean Winchester certainly didn't pull off suspenders well.

Behind him, in the hall, Harry spotted the gigantic Sam watching with pensive eyes, but something seemed off. Harry watched them closely for a few minutes before the staff started to disperse to their own workrooms again. Harry was sure they were far from done talking about the event, but they couldn't stand around all day if they wanted to keep their jobs. Harry watched Sam leave, then Dean. With a shrug he set out after Sam. Not a single person stopped him either. When you acted like you belonged some place, people usually thought you did. So Harry settled in near the elevator and only when he thought it would suspicious if he lingered any longer with no purpose did he throw up an invisibility spell.

Much to his surprise Sam seemed completely engrossed in his work and some scribbling on a notepad he kept glancing at. Harry frowned. Something was definitely wrong, but he couldn't put a finger on what. Sam's phone rang and a few seconds later the man was grabbing his things and heading in Harry's direction. Harry stepped onto the elevator as the doors slid closed watching as Sam hit the '22' button.

The ride up was short and silent with Harry still under his invisibility. They stepped off together and Harry trailed along after the giant man as he made a bee line for office 2208. Sam knocked as he walked through the doorway and Harry got a glance at Dean buttoning up a fresh shirt. He smirked. At least the bold blue stripes and the suspenders were gone.

"Come in. Shut the door." Dean said making his way to his desk.

Sam followed his brother's instructions before turning back and looking a tad nervous.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean asked glaring.

Harry nearly choked on his own breath. What the fuck did that mean?

"I'm not sure I know." Sam answered shifting.

"What the hell does that mean?"

Sam moved forward a bit. "Sam Wesson. I started here three weeks ago."

Harry tried to push down the surreal feeling of the scene.

"Alright. You cornered me in the elevator talking about ghosts. And now..."

"Now what?" Sam asked curiously.

A pause on Dean's end as if he was deciding whether or not to admit to something. Clearly he decided not to.

"Now nothing. I, uh...so you started working here three weeks ago, huh?"

Sam nodded with a frown.

"Yeah, me too."

"Alright. That's enough." Harry said dispelling his invisibility. "I've had enough of the surreal 'It's a wonderful life' talk."

"Holy mother of-!" Dean fell back clutching his chest and staring at Harry as if he'd just stabbed a man.

Sam was just staring at Harry wide eyed. "You…you're…"

"I swear to god if you tell me my own name I'm going to take up batting practice with your head. What's going on?"

"You just appeared out of thin air!" Dean said incredulously leaning over his own desk then he flopped back in his chair. "I can't believe it. Ghosts are real."

"I'm not a ghost you twit." Harry spat. "But thank you for the run down on my activity log. I'll get back to you the next time I need help remembering what happened two seconds ago."

"I've seen you before." Sam said, head tilting slightly to the side in recognition.

"Brilliantly observant aren't you."

"In my dreams." Sam added.

"I'm flattered." Harry said flipping a hand haphazardly. "Now then if you don't mind I'd like to figure out why you called me here so I can leave. I don't particularly feel like standing around all day waiting for you two to stop day dreaming. It's a waste of my free time."

Sam's brow furrowed. "I didn't call you." Harry turned his gaze to Dean who waved his hands.

"Don't look at me. I don't even know who you are…or what you are."

Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Fantastic." He muttered. "Someone's tampered with your memories."

"Tampered with…what the hell are you talking about?" Dean asked indignantly. "No one's tampered with my memory. My dad's name is Bob, my mother's name is Ellen, and I have a sister named Jo. I was born in-"

"Wrong." Harry cut off. "You have a father named John. Your mother was Mary and you don't even have a sister."

"Who are you to tell me that my-!"

"I'm your worst nightmare if you don't stop talking Dean Winchester!" Harry spat angrily and the lights flickered a bit.

Silence reigned the room until Sam spoke up.

"That last name…what…did you call him?"

"Winchester?" Harry said eyebrow raised.

Sam nodded hand going to his chin. "I've heard that before…"

"Gee. Might be because it's your last name genius. Now sit down." Harry pushed Sam just hard enough for him to fall into one of the arm chairs in front of Dean's desk. "Don't move."

He pushed two fingers against Sam's forehead and looked him directly in the eye concentrating. He sifted past the altered memories. There weren't many, just enough to make someone buy that they'd lived a sheltered life. If Sam tried to remember things from his early childhood he would have struck the wall separating his new life from the old. Harry touched the wall feeling the energy run through the mental connection and grimaced pulling back.

"Fucking angels." Harry spat moving away from Sam.

"Angels?" Dean asked incredulously.

"Yes. Try to keep up. I don't care to repeat myself."

"Angels did this?" Sam frowned. "Like the one in my dreams? Ca…"

"Castiel? No." Harry supplied. "No, this is beyond Castiel's capabilities. You know, you two have a habit of pissing off extremely powerful people. Maybe you should stop."

"They didn't piss me off." The door to Dean's office was opening to reveal slightly pudgy older man. He had a grin on his face like he'd just won the lotto. "Not yet anyway."

"Zachariah." Harry said eyebrows raised. "I thought I smelt overconfident douchebag when I walked into this building, but I thought 'nah, he's too busy fucking things up in heaven to be here'. Nice vessel by the way. Very age appropriate."

Zachariah's grin didn't vanish. In fact he seemed even happier at the sight of Harry.

"I'm so confused." Dean said gripping his head and leaning against his desk.

"Dean, Dean, Dean." Zachariah said moving toward the man. When Harry made to move the angel twisted his hand and Harry's neck followed the movement twisting to an odd angle. His body dropped haphazardly to the floor. Sam let out a startled gasp.

Zachariah tapped Dean's head before he could jerk back. Immediately memories flooded back into his head.

"What the hell?" Dean said blinking. "Why am I wearing a tie? My god am I hungry."

Sam stared between the two in confusion.

"Welcome back." Zachariah said perching on the edge of the desk.

Dean took in his surroundings eyes coming to a rest on Harry's body on the floor.

"Don't' worry about him." Zachariah said standing. "He'll be up and about in no time. It's annoying really. I still haven't found a way to kill the bastard."

Dean blinked. "You're an angel?"

"Zachariah at your service."

"Great. Like I needed another one of you guys." Dean tried to catch Sam's eye but his brother seemed preoccupied with the dead body in the room.

"I'm hardly 'another one' Dean. I'm Castiel's superior."

"And what? You've come to have a divine intervention?"

"Well for one I came to fix your attitude problem." Zachariah offered.

"I don't have an attitude problem. I have a people fucking up my life problem." Dean said shaking his head. "And what? This is some sort of lesson?"

"I'm sorry." Sam finally spoke up. "What the hell is going on?"

"Ah, Sam." Zachariah said rounding on the man. "I completely forgot you were there. An unfortunate oversight. Let me correct it." He tapped Sam on the head and the man collapsed. "Calm down Dean. He's just unconscious. Honestly you two get so up in arms about each other."

"Gee maybe it has something to do with the guy you just killed in cold blood not five minutes ago!" Dean countered.

"He's not dead." Zachariah corrected. "Or at least he won't be in a few seconds."

True to his prediction Harry gave violent twitch on the ground before pushing himself up. He glared at the angel before spitting out a large gob of blood and saliva. "Ow." He growled jerking his head to the side and hearing a satisfying crack.

"So what was this test supposed to be about?" Dean turned the conversation back on track. "How much power you have over our lives?"

"On the contrary," Zachariah held up a finger. "It's about your destiny. It's about how you would have become a hunter even without your dad dragging you into it. It's in your blood Dean. No heavenly assistance needed. You and your brother, you'll find your way to hunting every time in the dark. You're miserable without it."

"Fancy speech and all, but if you didn't realize it's a moot point." Dean ground out. "Seeing as you zapped us here in the first place."

Zachariah threw his hands up. "Come on Dean. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Sorry I must have left it back at the hotel you abducted me from." Dean quipped earning a half amused smile from Harry.

"I think this pleasant chat's just about over, don't you?" Harry said and he flicked his hand. Zachariah was gone instantly as if expelled from the room by the movement.

"What did you do?" Dean asked looking around as if the angel would just shift through the floor or something. "I wasn't done asking questions."

"I'm sure he was done giving answers." Harry said with a glare. "You're not going to get answers from them Dean. I wouldn't even try. Angles may not lie very often but they're perfectly able to twist the truth and exclude facts. Now where did Zachariah steal you from? I'll be nice and drop you off on my way home."

* * *

Harry glanced up from his work briefly acknowledging the presence of the angel in the room. "You shouldn't be here Anna."

"I know that." She said shifting feet.

"No, clearly you don't…because you're here." Harry said setting down his pen. "Your vessel is being watched for."

"How haven't they found me yet?" Anna asked looking at him intently.

Harry sighed. "That's a secret Anna."

"I need to know."

"No! You don't!" Harry snapped before he could reign his temper back in. He rubbed his forehead. "I'll look for a new vessel for you. In the mean time I need you to go back to the facility."

"Why? So you can keep me prisoner?" She asked bitterly.

"Really Anna?" Harry's voice turned sour. "Prisoner? Because most watchmen allow their prisoner to walk off unwatched? Take what you can get Anna because it's either this or whatever the angels have planned for you. Personally I'm starting to think you're more trouble than the ring's worth."

"You know the seals are going to break and you're not going to do anything about it?" Anna spat just as angrily.

"I'm not doing anything because there's nothing I can do you dolt!" Harry shot back. "No matter what I do, no matter how I try to affect the outcome the seals still fall!"

"You could warn Sam and Dean!" Anna said passionately. "You could tell them about the final seal."

Harry shook his head. "What part of 'the seals still fall' aren't you comprehending. If I tell him he still kills her. It's just for a different reason. The way I see it I'm sparing him the guilt of knowing what he was doing. He won't die Anna. The angels won't allow it. You know that. They'll make sure the seals break."

Anna looked properly abashed and a single tear slid down her cheek. "You care don't you?"

Harry gave her a disgusted look.

"I can tell."

Harry didn't glance up but his hands shook as he poured a glass of scotch. "Bloody angels." He muttered and nearly dropped his glass when Anna placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She said tenderly. "The weight of the world has already rested on your shoulders once. It's unfair of us to ask for that again."

Harry shrugged off her hand. "That was lifetimes ago."

Anna nodded. "Still, I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't seem to cut it kiddo." Harry said knocking back his drink with a grimace. "If it did all of our slates would be wiped clean. Tabula Rasa even after our greatest mistakes. I can't ask for that."

Anna shook her head. "If anyone deserves it you do."

Harry scoffed. "Why? I've been trafficking items in the Americas for nigh on two centuries now, and that's just the tips of the ice burg. Not exactly holy material over here."

"That doesn't matter." She said before sighing resignedly. "I'm going back."

Harry said nothing as the sound of fluttering wings filled his office.

* * *

He nearly dropped his glass when his wards went off signifying Anna was in mortal peril. Couldn't he get a moment of peace? He apparated, still holding his glass and frowning intensely. He felt his anger flare when he saw what lay before him. Anna was stood several feet from Castiel an angel on either side of her. Harry stepped forward lightly touching the angels on the back on the neck. Their vessels collapsed.

"Honestly Anna what happened to laying low?" Harry said shaking his head in irritation.

Castiel simply stared at Anna so Harry snapped his fingers and the woman disappeared. Castiel turned his gaze on Harry. "Where did you send her?"

"Somewhere safe." Harry said massaging his temples. "The blithering idiot would probably have a better survival rate if she didn't go about contacting the people who want her dead."

"And them?" Castiel nodded to the downed angels.

"Temporarily incapacitated." Harry said with a shrug.

"I had no ideas your powers had evolved to this point."

Harry frowned. "When you've been around as long as I have you learn a few tricks."

"So I've noticed…You can't keep protecting her."

"A warning or a threat Castiel?" Harry said expression turning dark. "I don't take well to threats."

"A suggestion." Castiel amended. "There are no others like you in this world, but the angels do not seem to care if they have to wipe you out. They've actually encouraged it, and the ones who would see you dead have been trying to find a way to make that happen. It would be a…shame to see you fall."

Harry's face softened a bit. He could sense true emotion hidden just beneath Castiel's gruff exterior. "I believe you are in need of a suggestion more than I am Castiel."

"I am?"

Harry nodded. "Soon, everything will change. Everything you hold dear will crumble. When it does you'll seek solace in places you'd never considered before." Harry's eyes closed seeing flashes before them. He opened them to see a confused angel. "Don't fall to the wayside Castiel. The humans need a protector, not a god. See that you don't forget."

Castiel studied his face and nodded disappearing moments later, but Harry knew his warning was in vain. None of his actions had ever altered the course of a vision before. Castiel would fall, and he would try to drag those he found guilty with him. He would turn his back on humanity eventually. Harry shook his head and snapped his fingers sending the unconscious vessels to a random spot in Michigan. Better to leave them somewhere that they couldn't link to their memories to confuse them.

He turned transporting himself back to his office. Anna was there sitting in a chair and fidgeting.

"I warned you that the angels would do anything to catch you." Harry said with a sigh. "They don't want you to leak valuable information."

She stood and began pacing. "I had to go. Castiel released Sam."

Harry tilted his head. "I'm failing to follow your logic."

She hesitated. "Dean locked Sam in a panic room. He's been drinking demon blood."

"So I've heard." Harry said a tinge of regret coloring his voice.

"Dean put him in the panic room to break his addiction. Castiel released him."

Harry leaned forward kneading his temples.

"He was following orders, but that's-"

"Anna." Harry said calmly and she stopped talking. "He was following orders."

She opened her mouth to argue but he cut her off.

"It's quite obvious how you feel about taking orders, but Castiel hasn't realized the things you did yet. He's trying desperately to believe that he is following the word of God."

"That doesn't make it right!"

"No, but it was necessary."

"Necessary?"

Harry tapped his head. "The final seal will fall tomorrow Anna. Sam had to be out of the panic room for that to happen."

Anna sent him a loath filled glare. "You want the apocalypse to start."

Harry shrugged. "It will whether I want it to or not. I may as well get what I want from the mix."

Anna glared shaking her head and then she was gone in a rush of wings. He sighed.

* * *

Harry stood watching the convent in Maryland. He was just close enough to see the light flickering through the tinted windows. Just close enough that if he wanted to he could pop in and say hello before the world went to hell.

He snapped his fingers conjuring a chair for him to sit in. His mind was torn on the subject, and the constant mental debate was driving him mad.

"You're here?"

Harry didn't turn to the sound of Anna's surprised question. "And you're not captured by the angel patrol squad yet. I think we're both surprised."

"Why are you here?"

"Honestly?" Harry said raising an eyebrow and letting the question hang there for a moment. "I don't know."

"You feel guilt." She said.

He was surprised that the word seemed to fit with the emotion he was feeling. He hadn't felt guilty about anything in a long time.

"You want to help them." Anna said.

Harry sighed staring at the convent in the distance.

"There's still time. You should go."

"I've never been able to change the course of a vision before Anna."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't try."

He turned weary green eyes on her. He studied her there for a moment. "Why aren't you trying to help?"

"Something is keeping me away." Anna said bitterly. "I thought it was you at first."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

The halls of the convent were lined with corpses and broken glass. Harry suppressed a shiver. The place just felt evil. He would never understand why someone had thought it a good place to build a church. Morons.

Pounding echoed through the halls and Harry followed it. It wasn't long before he came upon a frantic Dean Winchester trying his hardest to open a set of wooden double doors.

"Sam!" Dean cried out running at the door with his shoulder. Needless to say the door didn't budge. Dean then tried kicking it before a hand caught his arm dragging him back. "You?!" Harry gave him a small eye roll before flicking his fingers at the doors. They parted quickly slamming against the walls inside with enough force to make them rattle. Dean rushed past him calling for his brother. Harry strode calmly into the room a sense of foreboding overtaking him.

"Sam!" Dean called again stopped by some unseen force though Harry had a good guess that it was the demon standing next to Sam who was keeping the older brother at bay. Sam had a hand out, body turned away from the two new arrivals, but at his brother's entrance he had turned, confused.

"Sam!" the demon Ruby called panicking. "What are you waiting for?!"

"You turned yourself into a monster…and now you're not going to bite?" Lilith's voice rose over all else in the room somehow drawing Sam's attention back to her. "I'm sorry, but that's honestly adorable."

Harry watched Sam's hand raise. He could let this happen. He could let Sam kill Lilith and start the apocalypse. The bitch certainly deserved no less than death, but something in him wouldn't let him take a back seat to this. He ran forward shoving Sam and breaking his concentration just as Lilith had started to spark in that all too familiar way that signified a demon was dying.

He hit Sam and the two went sprawling across the floor. He caught sight of Sam's eyes and reeled back. Solid black looked at him. What the fuck had Sam done to himself? He didn't have time to think about it as a piercing pain hit his back and then he was finding it rather hard to breath. He twirled as fast as his rapidly diminishing senses would let him and saw Ruby just inches behind him, hands bloodied and poised in such a way that let him know that she'd just stabbed him with something. He made to hit her with something, anything but his mind locked on his lack of oxygen and he found himself spluttering as blood forced its way up his throat.

He hacked, acutely aware of what was going on around him. Lilith was free of whatever hold Sam had had her under and she and Dean were struggling with something that Harry couldn't quite make out. Sam was first at Harry's side in confusion and then he was rushing to help his brother. Harry let out another cough feeling like his lungs were on fire. It wasn't a feeling he was unfamiliar with. He could feel Ruby rushing at him preparing to take what she thought would be his death blow. She was probably more startled than she let on when he caught her foot and twisted causing a sickening crunch. "I'm not….dead yet… you fucking… bitch." He hacked out.

But he'd recovered too late and he knew it. He heard the scream but didn't want to turn and see his failure with his own eyes. Still, he had to.

Lilith was laying on the floor looking more shocked than she probably should have given the circumstances. She'd known her death was coming after all.

"You did it." Harry heard Ruby say behind him and suddenly he couldn't keep his balance any more. He hit the floor on all fours. Was it just him or was the air in this room made of jello? Why the hell couldn't he breath? "I mean…it was a little touch and go there for a minute, but you did it."

Harry wanted nothing more than for her to shut up right then. He hacked again and was both surprised and unsurprised to the fine spray of blood hit the floor. "Fuck." He forced out.

"Ruby, what's going on?" Sam said his voice laced with panic. Hell Harry started to panic when he saw blood staring to worm its way across the floor in his direction, but it only passed him and kept going. "What…what did I do?"

"You opened the door." Ruby said ecstatic. "And now he's free at last! He's free at last!"

"No, no, no, no, no." Sam pleaded. "I stopped her. I killed her."

"And so it is written that the first demon shall be the last seal. And you busted her open Sammy." Ruby said a bit too smugly. Harry swore if he were capable he'd stand up and stab her through the chest right now.

"You don't even know how hard this was! All the demons out for my head. No one knew. I was the best of those sons of bitches! The most loyal! Not even Alistair knew! Only Lilith! Yeah, I'm sure you're a little angry right now, but, I mean, come on, Sam! Even you have to admit-"

Harry forced himself to his feet in the middle of her little monologue and grabbed whatever it was she'd stabbed into his back earlier. It dislodged and he saw a short dagger very similar to the demon killing one Dean had in his possession but none of the same enchantments. Without a forethought he reached around plunged the knife through Ruby's chest and into her heart.

She let out a startled little cry and he could feel her body shake a bit. "That won't work." she choked out.

"Want to bet?" he replied just as unevenly. He poured power into the blade, reveling in her screams as she started to spark. She became dead weight suddenly and Harry couldn't hold her up. He stumbled falling onto his side. He opened his eyes and suddenly he realized where he was laying. He was still in the circle Lilith's blood had been forming. Dean was making his way over, for what Harry was unsure. Harry forced himself to his knees blood dripping from his chin. "Stop!" he yelled at Dean just before he could put a foot inside the nearly complete circle. Something inside his head told him that would be a bad idea.

Harry shakily stood up even as Dean halted. Harry worked his way over, but wasn't fast enough. The circle completed itself and the blood began to slowly swirl inward to the center. He made to put his foot over the line to no effect. Something invisible held him inside. He focused on Dean who had noticed his inability to cross. "Leave." He said in as commanding a voice as he could manage while injured.

"How do we get you out?" Dean said looking around as if there was some clue.

"You don't Winchester." Harry said coughing and his knees gave out. "Leave. Now."

Sam was stood slightly to the side seeming a bit overwhelmed by everything. "There has to be some way!" Dean countered.

"There isn't!" Harry yelled and immediately regretted it when he saw black spots. He was sure he wasn't a pleasant sight covered in both his own blod and Ruby's. "Get out of here now." Harry voice was getting weaker and was it just him or was the room becoming hotter? "Now!"

Dean nodded once grabbing Sam's arm as the man looked a bit lost. "Let's go Sammy!" Dean yelled over the sound of the wind picking up around them. A bright light had begun to glow right behind Harry but the man seemed oblivious to it.

Sam seemed finally to snap out of his daze and his eyes settled on Harry kneeling there at the edge of the circle. "Dean!" Sam yelled gesturing at Harry.

"Let's go Sam!" Dean said forcing the weakened man towards the door. They didn't get very far before the light overtook everything.

* * *

**Now, if you're wondering about the reason Harry was called to the building. I'll explain for anyone who doesn't remember the conversation between Sam and his IT buddy in the break room. Sam's friend calls Sam a wizard, and then 'Harry Potter'. Does this mean Harry Potter still exists as a book even though Harry himself is a character in this fic? You'll have to keep reading to find plot thickens and other such nonsense!  
**

**If you've continued reading to this point let it be known that next chapter stuff will start to even out. The timeline won't skip nearly as much and everything will sort of fall into place. Next season is the one I was really wanting to write! :D  
**

**Well, I'll stop rambling. 'Til next time!  
**

**~Kanathia  
**


	6. Ch 5: Si Vos Somnia Diaboli

**I completely intended to finish the next chapter today, but got distracted when a movie I've been waiting for released on amazon. Now...now I'm just being melancholic and don't want to write. Still, I figured I should hold to my intended schedule and release this chapter.  
**

**A few answers should be given...sort of. I don't intend to reveal everything at once. It's just not how I write so anyone expecting that will be sorely disappointed.  
**

**Episodes: 5.2 Good God Ya'll**

* * *

Harry swallowed back bile. He felt like he was going to vomit the pain was so intense. He'd felt worse but this was certainly no picnic. He cracked his eyes slowly. Closing them again when the light made his dilated pupils contract angrily. He hissed in pain.

He groaned stretching out his legs. It felt like he'd been curled in a ball for an eternity. Slower this time he opened his eyes curious as to his location. His head was fuzzy and he couldn't quite remember. A forest lay as far as he could see to either side of him. He tilted his head confused. How the hell did he get in the middle of the forest? His leg brushed a rock and he glanced down. He was naked. Bloody hell he was naked in a forest.

He cringed as the panic set off a headache. He tried to apparate to his office but when he opened his eyes he found himself standing only a few feet from where he had been. He tried to summon clothes, nothing happened. He tried to create clothes, still nothing happened. Unsure of what to do he plopped down on the ground and took a deep breath.

"What the hell?"

* * *

Dean kept glancing at Sam out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't sure if his brother had noticed yet. Then again, he didn't particularly care if Sam did notice.

Dean was frustrated, with life, with the situation, but mostly he was frustrated with Sam. He slowed the Impala as they approached a narrow bridge, and then had to stop completely. He pushed his thoughts to the side to face the bigger issue at the moment. "This is the only road in or out of town." Dean frowned. He had checked the map earlier to be sure. He liked to know the lay of the land in case there was trouble.

Sam held up his cell phone. "No signal."

"Rufus was right." Dean said kicking a rock down the collapsed side of the bridge. "They've got this place locked down."

"Looks like we're hiking in."

"And the hits just keep coming." Dean said making his way to the back of the car to grab their weapons.

They made their way into the small town of River Pass quickly. They only stopped once when Sam had sworn he'd heard something, but having found no source they kept going. The place was a ghost town. Cars lay on their sides and hoods. A baby stroller sat in the middle of the street completely abandoned. Neither Sam nor Dean wanted to dwell on what might have happened to its occupant.

The sound of a gun cocking had both brothers stilling instantly. Dean whipped around leveling his shotgun and then he hesitated. "Ellen?"

"Hello boys." She said stepping closer and lowering her own weapon.

"Ellen, what the heck's going on here?" Dean asked and got a splash of holy water to the face for his trouble. He stood there stunned for a moment before spitting out the little that had gotten into his mouth. "We're us. Okay?"

She motioned for them to follow, not bothering to splash any holy water on Sam. Dean didn't fail to notice that little fact. He felt his irritation rise again.

She led them across the threshold of a church stopping just a few feet in to watch them cross over a salt line and devil's trap. Seeing that she seemed satisfied and pulled Dean into a hug. "I'm real glad to see you boys."

She leant back and slapped Dean drawing a hiss of surprise, and wide eyed amusement from Sam.

"The can of whoop ass I ought to open on you!" Sam immediately wiped the smile from his face, not eager to receive a slap of his own. "You can't pick up a phone? What are you allergic to giving me piece of mind? I got to find out you're alive from Rufus?"

"Sorry." Dean said looking like he was getting ready to dodge another slap if it came his way.

"Yeah you better be. You better put me on speed dial kid." She said turning away to lead them the rest of the way down into the church.

Sam and Dean shared a mutual look of awe. Women were scary sometimes in a way they'd never seen a man be.

"So what's going on?" Sam asked to break the silence.

"More than I can handle alone." Ellen answered honestly.

"How many demons are there?"

"Pretty much the whole town except the dead, and these guys."

* * *

Harry paused as he happened upon the outskirts of a town. He glanced down at himself and frowned. He couldn't exactly go gallivanting through the square with no clothing on so he walked just inside the tree coverage. He walked for upwards of fifteen minutes, earning himself even more small cuts than he'd had previously. Eventually he reached a house close enough to him that he felt it safe enough to run.

It turns out it wasn't at all necessary to have done so. There wasn't a soul around to see him there. He could have waltzed across the courthouse steps and he probably wouldn't have garnered so much as a raised eyebrow. No, the town was good and dead.

As soon as Harry realized he stopped in his tracks. He felt like he was walking, or rather running, into a trap. Still, clothing would help if he came across…undesirables. He didn't exactly feel like fighting commando. He wasn't Beowulf.

He approached the house a bit more cautiously now watching for signs of movement. He checked the back door and cursed lowly when he found it locked. The entire town was abandoned, but they'd taken the time to lock their doors before disappearing. Spectacular. He grabbed a pillow off of the porch swing and held it against the window next to the door. He slammed his elbow back into the pillow saving his arm from being shredded by the sharp glass. He reached in and flipped the lock so he could lift the window easily.

The house was decorated in a typical traditional American home setting. In fact it might have been altogether too normal for Harry's sanity if not for the blood spatters on the kitchen floor and entrance hall wall. Something serious had gone down here, but he was unsure what. He shrugged. Investigating weirdness was second in his book to finding a pair of pants so he made his way up the stairs careful not to trip and fall on the debris he found scattered there.

The first door he tried was a linen closet, the second a child's bedroom. The third was what he was looking for…mostly. Its red walls were a bit alarming on first entrance, but it was paint, not blood, to his surprise. He'd always hated red walls in bedrooms. He made his way over to the closet and set to picking through the clothes until he found a few pairs of jeans. He would've looked for something a bit more his style but he doubted he'd find his size and even the thought of wearing ill fitted slacks made him cringe.

The first pair was a bit tight, and the second a tinge too loose, but he'd take the loose ones over the tight any day. Besides, the smaller pair seemed to belong to a woman if the rest of the clothing on that side of the closet was anything to go by. Tugging on the jeans he searched for a shirt and grabbed the first unstained one he could find. It just happened to be a slightly wrinkled gray button down missing the top two buttons. His nose wrinkled a bit as he put it on. Didn't these people own any decent clothing?

He grabbed a belt off of the dresser and tightened it to make sure the pants weren't going to slide off if he had to do any sudden running. "Time to investigate I suppose." He said running his fingers through his hair. He pulled a twig out and flicked it away.

Outside the town was just as desolate as he'd thought it was on first inspection. Over turned cars littered the streets. He saw a woman's purse laying in the middle of the street completely upright as if she'd just set it there and wandered off to do better things. He wandered closer to where he saw shops. He ran his fingers over the bricks making up the wall and paused as they ran over smooth glass. 'Quick Mart' the sign hanging above his head read. With a shrug he went in. A card rack stood just to the side of the entrance and he bee lined for it. He grabbed the first card and flipped it upright. "River Pass, Colorado?" he said raising an eyebrow. How the hell was he in Colorado? The last he remembered he was…He put a hand to his head as a flashing light played through his mind. It was searing in its intensity, but through the sudden migraine he swore he heard something move. He whipped around and spotted the pool of blood moments before the large body was hurling itself at him.

He ducked, rolling to the side and jumping back up. He turned warily to his attacker and stopped. "Sam?"

Sam froze in front of him. He'd hit the drink coolers when he missed Harry and apparently struck his head. He turned warily at the sound of Harry's voice.

"Thought that was you." Harry said relaxing his stance a bit. "Haven't met anyone quite as tall as you before now."

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked and Harry's eyes flicked to the knife that was still held in a clearly offensive position.

"Sam?" Dean's voice rang through the store.

"Dean." Sam called back drawing the man's attention to them.

When Dean saw the second person he hustled over drawing his gun.

"Would you look at that?"Harry said trying to hide the twinge of pain his own voice sent through his head. "The complete Winchester set."

"Harry?" Dean said eyes watching the man warily. "What are you doing here? I thought you were dead."

Harry blinked. Why would the Winchesters think he was dead? Clearly the confusion showed on his face because some of the tension in Dean's shoulders fell. "Your guess is as good as mine." He said with a shrug. "I woke up in a clearing about three miles from here…you wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?"

Sam was shaking his head in confusion. Dean just seemed to be running through the story in his head looking for holes. There were quite a few Harry knew, but he wasn't lying. Sam looked to his brother waiting for his assessment. Harry didn't like that Sam seemed a little too keen to just stab him and get it over with.

Finally Dean lowered his gun. "Come on. We've got to get back to the group."

"Group?" Harry asked as the two hunters took lead. "No insult intended but I never counted you two as the 'group' type."

"We're not." Dean snapped. "There are people trapped in this town. We're trying to get them out."

"Whatever you say." Harry said holding up his hands.

The 'group' was apparently located in a church's underground basement. Harry felt like part of a snuff film as he followed the brothers down to the shelter. They only seemed to relax when he crossed successfully over a demon trap that had been drawn by the door. Harry shrugged, unsure what was causing the Winchesters to be even more paranoid than usual.

They reached a door and Harry stopped, head tilting to the side. Something felt off on the other side of that door but he couldn't place what. Dean knocked out a pattern and the door swung inward to allow them entrance. Dean motioned for Harry to follow but he hesitated. "We don't have all day." Dean said in irritation.

With a mental shrug Harry stepped into the room and surveyed the people inside.

"Who's this?" An older woman said coming up and stopping just in front of Harry, surveying him.

"Harry Potter, at your service." He said extending a hand and throwing off all in the room with his accent. "And you would be?"

"Ellen Harvelle." She replied shaking the hand and shooting the Winchesters a curious look. It was obvious Harry wasn't from around River Pass, and the name sounded familiar but she couldn't place where she'd heard it.

"A pleasure to finally meet you Mrs. Harvelle." Harry said with a grin. The woman may be getting on in years but she was still quite attractive in that 'scary mother' sort of way. "I've heard a great deal about your bar. It's a shame to hear it burnt down."

If she looked confused before she looked downright flabbergasted now.

"Now's not the time for flirting." A muscular young man said heading around them and toward the table where Sam and Dean were laying out their acquired weapons.

Harry grinned lecherously at Ellen before moving after the man.

"You know your way around a gun at all?" Dean asked the man who'd interrupted Ellen and Harry. The man proceeded to dismantle the gun with startling ease laying each piece out on the table in front of Dean. Harry whistled lowly. "Hm. Where'd you serve?"

"Fallujah. Two tours. Got back a little over a year ago. Takes one to know one. Where'd you serve?"

"Hell." Dean said blandly. Harry and Austin snorted though for different reasons.

"No, seriously."

Dean gave him a measuring look. "Seriously. Hell."

Austin blinked, but he shrugged unwilling to call Dean out.

Harry laughed as the man walked away. "Think it's wise to go telling people you were in hell when they think they're surrounded by demons?" He asked amusedly to Dean who tensed.

"How'd you know about the demons?"

"The place is covered with wards and devil's traps. How would I not have known?" Harry replied with a roll of his eyes.

Dean seemed satisfied with that for the moment and shrugged heading over to Sam. Harry plopped himself in a free chair and watched the small group go through their gun lessons.

"I'll be back." Ellen called out suddenly.

Harry turned his attention to her.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked turning from his conversation with Sam.

"I can't sit here on my ass. My daughter is out there somewhere. I'm not back in half an hour, get these people out of here."

"Wait." Sam called making his way over. "I'll go with you."

"Whoa, hold on." Dean said putting a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Harry watched them retreat back to their corner. He stood approaching Ellen. "If you don't mind the company I'll join you."

"No offense kid, but I don't need someone else dying on my watch." Ellen said harshly. It was obvious she was hoping her brash manner would make him unwilling to go.

He smirked. "Why Mrs. Harvelle, I'm offended. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself."

Ellen eyed him for a long minute. "You a hunter?"

"It's not my primary occupation, but I've been known to dabble." Harry said with a knowing smile. He was aware that he looked like he'd just lost a fight with a dirt patch. Maybe he should have taken a shower while he'd been in the house as well.

"You can come. But don't think-"

She stopped as they heard a thud from the Winchester's direction. Sam had shoved Dean back into the wall behind him. When they realized they were being watched Sam sent one last glare Dean's way before stalking in their direction. "Let's go." He muttered grabbing a gun.

* * *

"Is there a reason you're not wearing shoes?" Ellen asked having finally glanced down at the man's feet.

Harry shrugged not really caring to explain to the woman the trouble of even finding clothing that somewhat fit him in the abandoned town, let alone shoes.

The silence grew between the three and Harry with a short scoff broke away from the other two partially as he examined some of the cars looking for anything useful. He had to be mindful of the broken glass that lay around in sometimes quite random places.

Ellen waited until there was a sizable distance between Harry and her before she confronted Sam. "So what's up between you and Dean?"

Sam glanced over to her obviously a bit surprised by the sudden question.

"It's hard not to notice how different things are between you guys these days."

Sam didn't say anything and Ellen saw Harry draw closer, but she pressed on.

"A lot of bad road there huh? What happened? Some girl come between you?"

Sam's shoulders tensed for a second. "Just…stresses of the job. You know how it is. I'm kind of surprised. You and Jo hunting. I thought you said she couldn't hack the life."

"She can't." Ellen established. "But if she's gonna do it anyway…"

"You want to keep an eye on her." Sam said in understanding. Ellen nodded.

"You two even paying attention?" Harry asking jogging up beside them. He nodded in the distance where the two could just barely make out smoke rising above the tree line. "Looks like someone's throwing a bonfire party. Did you guys bring marshmallows?"

Ellen shot an annoyed glare in his direction. They moved around a house until they spotted the chimney the smoke was coming from. Ellen huffed spotting a demon in the window and pointing it out to the others. "Looks like we found base camp."

"Demons don't get cold." Sam said eyebrows drawing together. "Makes you wonder what they're burning."

"Babies." Harry answered with a dark chuckle.

The other two turned to him with expressions caught between disgust and horror.

Harry scrunched up his nose. "Oh come on. It was a joke. Lighten up."

Sam made to move around the corner, but Ellen was grabbed from behind and Harry was pushed hard enough to send him tumbling across the yard. He felt his head strike a rock.

Sam whirled around slamming his gun into the head of the man attacking him as Ellen was pinned to the wall. "Don't move you evil skank!"

Harry pushed himself off of the ground disoriented and seeing white. Something was seriously wrong with his head. Still, he forced himself to stumble over to where Sam and Ellen were struggling.

"Don't you hurt her, don't you-" Ellen said struggling with a petite blonde girl holding her pinned to the wall.

"Give me back my mom, you black eyed bitch!" the smaller blonde yelled and Harry stopped in his tracks blinking furiously. Their eyes were flickering, both of them. Black, and then back to normal, again and again.

Ellen shoved the younger girl off.

"Ellen! Run!" Sam yelled cocking his shotgun.

Ellen hesitated for a moment looking from Sam to Harry and then back.

"Go!" Harry agreed despite the effort used to make the sound nearly making him scream in pain. He was on his knees somehow when he looked up again and Sam was on the ground at the feet of an older man.  
"Got you now, you bastard." The man said striking Sam in the face with the butt of his gun.

Harry felt something hit his already sore head and he collapsed allowing the blissfulness of unconsciousness to take him.

* * *

Sam yanked at the bonds on his wrists for what felt like the umpteenth time. He shot another glance to other bound figure in the room. Harry had been making groaning noises and such apparently since before Sam had even woken up, but he hadn't roused from his sleep. He was just sitting there, head lolled to the side with blood seeping down onto the gray shirt he was wearing. He'd never looked more human to Sam than in that moment, and that scared Sam. Why did he have to choose now to be human like? And if he was human and Sam had dragged him into this mess…Just another layer of guilt, right?

The explosion that had rung through the air minutes before wasn't reassuring to Sam. He had to get out of here. He had to find Dean and tell him that War was trying to take down this town. He couldn't dwell on mistakes right now. That wouldn't help anyone.

The door burst open and Sam almost sighed with relief, but he had too much to say. "Dean! It's not demons! It's-"

"War." Dean finished with him. "I just can't figure out how he's doing it."

"The ring." Sam supplied as his wrist came free.

"The ring. Right, he twisted it just before he made everyone hallucinate and go hellbitch. Where's Ha…" Dean stopped as he spotted Harry tied down inside his own devil's trap. "Did Rufus do that?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't know what happened. He's been out of since I woke up."

Dean nodded moving to Harry's chair and repeating the process he'd done to Sam's. He lifted Harry in a fireman's hold. "We've gotta move. Come on."

They hustled down stairs where Jo was rushing about stopping people inside their base from shooting. Dean sat Harry down and leaned him against a wall.

Sam and Dean hustled out of the house making sure to stay out of sight of any of the still rampaging townspeople. It didn't take them long to get to the red mustang they'd noticed on their way into town. It took even less time for them to spot War strutting down the street towards them.

Dean pulled the demon killing knife and held it at the ready getting a nod from Sam. When War made a move to open the door of the car they jumped him. Sam held War's arms back while Dean brandished the knife threateningly.

"Whoa. Okay. That's a sweet little knife you've got there, but come on kids! You can't kill War." War said laughing a bit.

"Oh. We know." Dean said grabbing War's hand and slicing. War let out a startled cry as the knife removed his ring finger and with it, the ring. Suddenly the man, the finger, and the car were gone, leaving only the golden ring sitting innocently on the ground.

* * *

All of them could feel it when the hallucinations stopped. It was like a veil being lifted. Suddenly Rufus and Jo didn't need to run around reminding people not shoot anyone and they were thankful for it. They met back in the front hall and Jo grimaced as she saw the small man leaned against a wall, still unmoving.

She kneeled beside him checking his pulse. "What do you thinks wrong with him?" she said worried. "He should have woken up by now."

Rufus shrugged, eying the man with distaste. It was in his nature to distrust those he didn't know and let it not be said that Rufus was a man that didn't follow his nature. Jo glanced up as shuffling feet signified a new arrival. Dean stood in the doorway frowning, his eyes rested on the man against the wall. "It's done?" she asked.

Dean nodded stepping inside. "Yeah."

"Where's Sam?"

"On his way back to the car. He's going to call the police so I recommend you guys get out of here soon."

Jo followed Dean's gaze which hadn't left the man. "You know him?" she said surprised.

"You could say that." Dean said kneeling next to him. He shifted the slighter man forward and then over his shoulder.

"Where are you taking him?" She asked confused. "Wouldn't it make more sense to just leave him here for the paramedics?"

Dean shrugged offering her one of his winning smiles. "Something tells me he wouldn't appreciate that." Dean answered as honestly as he could. "Take care Jo, Rufus."

* * *

Sam and Dean sat in heavy silence at the truck stop. Dean crumbled his sandwich wrapper. "So, pit stop at Mount Doom?" Dean joked trying to lighten the tension.

Sam was silent a beat too long. "Dean."

"Can we not?" Dean said angrily tossing the paper into a trashcan.

"No, listen." Sam interrupted before Dean could go on a rant about not having girly moments. "I know you don't trust me."

Dean didn't meet his eyes and that was all the answer Sam needed to know he was right.

"It's just…I don't trust me now either Dean." Sam said staring at his hands. "From the minute I saw that blood, it's been the only thought in my head...and I tell myself it's for the right reasons, my intentions are good, and it, it feels true, you know? But I think, underneath...I just miss the feeling. I know how messed up that sounds, which means I know how messed up I am. Thing is, the problem's not the demon blood, not really. I mean, I, what I did, I can't blame the blood or Ruby or...anything. The problem's me. How far I'll go. How far I almost went. There's something in me that...scares the hell out of me, Dean. In the last couple of days, I caught another glimpse..."

"So…what are you saying?" Dean asked trying to catch Sam's eye.

"I'm in no shape to be hunting. I need to step back. I'm dangerous Dean. I nearly got a lot of people killed. Hell Dean, I thought I got him killed." He motioned towards the back seat where Harry's prone body lay. They'd taken a pit stop but they were on their way to Bobby's to see if they could figure out what was wrong with the man.

"Well, I think you're right." Dean agreed.

"I was expecting a fight." Sam said a bit startled.

"The truth is I spend more time worrying about you than I do about doing the job. And I just can't afford that. Not now…you know?"

Sam nodded though he seemed a bit heartbroken that Dean wasn't saying anything to contradict him, to keep him there. He knew he didn't deserve kind words after all he'd done, but he couldn't help but want them, even if they would have made the situation worse.

"I'm sorry Dean."

"I know you are Sam." Dean said with a sigh.

Sam stood and Dean looked up.

"Do you…uh well…do you want to take the Impala?" It was an offer of redemption of sorts, and a sign that some part of Dean still trusted Sam. After all, the Impala was Dean's baby, and the man in the back seat had a destination. But it was a tether that Sam didn't want at that moment.

"It's okay." Sam said with a shake of his head. He took a few steps and then looked back at Dean. "Take care of yourself."

"Yeah…you too Sammy."

Dean watched Sam as he hitched a ride from a truck driver who was leaving. He kept his eyes on the truck until it was down the road and gone. Guilt gnawed at his stomach, but relief as well.

* * *

Harry groaned. White light far too bright to be natural danced before his eyes and his head felt like it was splitting open. He squeezed his eyes tighter, but he felt something pulling at his eyelids trying to open them, and that certainly didn't feel right. He opened his eyes way too fast and everything in the room blurred, but he wasn't in a room and he could still feel someone trying to peel back his eyelids like you would to an unconscious person even though his eyes were open. It was disorienting.

In a flash he found himself in an old hotel room and the light dimmed dramatically. He blinked trying to adjust his eyes to the sudden shift. "Where the fuck am I?" He groused.

"A hotel room." Harry whipped around at the semi familiar voice. Red hair, pouty lips, ivory skin. But he hadn't seen her in forever.

"Ginny." He said distantly. He'd long since filed away his emotions for her.

"You shouldn't be so angry all the time." She said in that way that Harry was all too familiar with.

"You shouldn't be messing around in my head." He was well aware that it was beneficial to take the form of someone your victim was attached to. "Who are you?"

The fake Ginny sat up in bed and smiled sweetly. "Don't you recognize me?"

"I recognize the form, but I know you're not her. Who are you?"

The smile stayed although it turned a little more bitter. "Lucifer."

Harry tried not to show his panic. "Had a feeling I'd be seeing you some day." Harry said with a frown.

Lucifer/Ginny stood and walked over to him tapping him on the forehead. Pain flooded through him and he collapsed to the floor gasping. Memories flooded back into him. He blinked. Why had they been gone in the first place?

"I was being nice." Lucifer said from where he…she…it had taken residence on the bed again. "Your body would've died a few more times than it already had if I hadn't taken those memories for a short while. You should thank me."

"Thank you?" Harry spat. "I don't know if you noticed, but I would've come back to life anyway, and you're the one who kept me pinned there in the first place if my guess is right. I hardly owe you gratitude for making it 'easier'."

Lucifer frowned. "They told me you were ungrateful. I chose to ignore them. They're so rarely right about things."

"Who?"

"The other angels. My brothers and sisters." Lucifer said raising a hand as if it explained everything. "They told me you were spiteful, that you were weak. I figured they were simply annoyed that they couldn't delete you like a program error. And that's what you are Harry. A glitch in the system. A remnant of a deleted history that was never meant to be."

Harry scowled. "Thanks for the reminder." Harry said turning away, but Lucifer was right there when he turned placing a finger against his chin.

"They erased your entire race Harry. They killed your friends and they ripped you from your life. Don't you want revenge?"

Harry slapped the finger away, his anger overtaking his trepidation. "You seem to forget you're one of them!"

Lucifer pouted and on Ginny's face it was almost cute. "I'm wounded. I can't believe you still think of me as one of them. No one else does." Lucifer paused. "They think I'm more demon than angel now. More destruction than creation."

"More evil than good." Harry said eyes half glazed at the thought.

"Exactly." Lucifer said shaking a finger knowingly. "You and I Harry, we're a lot alike. Both of us cast from our homes, scorned by our peers and just for doing what they told us to do. You should join me Harry."

Harry felt an actual growl rip through his throat. "Like hell."

"Oh, no, you see. That threat loses its weight when the person you're throwing it at runs hell."

When Harry still glared with no chance of any answer coming forth Lucifer sighed.

"I can't expect an answer today. I understand. Think about it though." Lucifer said and then Harry was back in his head alone. And a splitting headache was what greeted him.

* * *

Dean arrived at Bobby's late that night. As he pulled closer to the house he saw the lights flick on one by one. He'd called Bobby beforehand to let him know the situation, but he wasn't sure what the older hunter could do.

They laid Harry out on a cot in the living room and Bobby went back to flipping through books relentlessly. Dean called all the contacts Bobby had looking for answers but the ones that answered seemed to know next to nothing. Even the doctors he'd talked to weren't particularly helpful. They were all convinced Harry was in a coma, but that didn't make sense with the groaning the guy was doing. It was like he was being kept just below the realms of consciousness by something. Dean felt his mind drawn back to the dream root incident with Bobby but he dismissed it. Bobby hadn't acted like this while he'd been under.

"Anything?" Dean asked slamming down his phone.

"Not a damned thing." Bobby said flipping another book closed. "It's looking more and more like we're gonna have to bring him to a hospital."

Dean stared at Harry for second before shaking his head.

"We're not equipped to deal with this." Bobby reasoned, his voice gruff. "We're not doctors Dean."

"I know." Dean said rubbing his face. "I know that, it's just…something's telling me we shouldn't bring him to a hospital because he wouldn't appreciate it."

"What's got you so ready to help the guy anyway? Last I checked you thought he was some supernatural monster who'd be better off dead."

"Nothing…it's just…" Dean looked ages older in that moment, as he often did lately at choice moments. Bobby swore he'd seen younger looking men in their eighties. "He was there Bobby."

"There?"

"At the convent, when Sam…" Dean trailed off not really wanting to bring up his brother's faults again. They were still too recent, too fresh in his mind.

"What the hell was he doing there?" Bobby said suddenly defensive and glaring daggers at Harry from his wheelchair.

"That's just it Bobby. He tried to stop him, to stop Sam."

"Well why didn't he?"

"I don't think anyone could have Bobby. He tried though."

"And what, the moment Sam popped the devil's box he disappeared into thin air?"

Dean shook his head. "No…he…he stopped me. I went to get him up and he told me to stop Bobby. I didn't get it until I saw him trapped in the circle. He couldn't get out Bobby. I don't know why but he couldn't. I thought he was dead. I thought someone else died protecting us…again."

Bobby couldn't say a damned thing to that. Harry hadn't struck him as the self sacrificing type.

"Hello Dean."

Dean suppressed the jump as best he could before turning a glare on Castiel. "Hell, Cas, can't you knock like everyone else?"

Castiel looked unperturbed by the reprimand instead turning his attention to Harry. "Why is he here?"

"He showed up on our last hunt and got hurt. I couldn't just leave him there."

Castiel glanced around again. "Where's Sam?"

"We're taking separate vacations." Dean bit out. "Did you find God yet? Better yet can I have my damn necklace back yet?"

"No, I haven't found him. That's why I'm here. I need your help."

"With what? Your 'God' hunt? Not interested."

"Not God. Someone else."

"Who?" Bobby spoke up.

"The archangel who killed me."

"Why the hell would you want to find him?"

"For in-"

A partially muffled yell cut Castiel off. Dean shared a short look with Bobby before rushing over. Harry was arching off the couch every muscle seeming to contract at once. "What the hell's wrong with him?" Dean asked trying to flatten the rather thin body back down onto the couch so he wouldn't fall, hit his head, and make this whole situation even worse than it already was.

"He looks like he's having seizures." Bobby said over the garbled sounds coming from Harry. "How hard did you say they hit him again?"

"They're not normal seizures." Castiel's calm voice seemed out of place.

"What does that mean?" Dean said harshly. He hated Castiel's cryptic wording sometimes…okay most of the time.

Castiel tapped Harry's forehead and the man slumped back down to the couch. Dean let out a relieved sigh. "He's trapped in a dreamscape."

Dean blinked. "Like the dream root." He said sharing a look with Bobby who had paled a bit at the reminder of his dream root experience.

Castiel was watching Harry like a scientist watched a rat trapped in a maze. It was disconcerting to say the least.

Bobby grabbed the small flashlight he'd been using earlier and rolled up next to Harry opening one eyelid to check the man's pupils.

"Sweet Merlin!" Harry exclaimed swatting away the light in his eye.

"You awake now kid?" Bobby asked leaning back.

Harry gripped his head and let out a moan.

"I would say he is awake." Castiel supplied none too helpfully though it was obvious he thought he was revealing new information.

"Thanks genius." Bobby said rolling back and towards his desk.

"I feel like I was hit by a steamroller." Harry said with a gravelly voice.

"You took a pretty good hit to the back of the head if what Ellen told me is true." Dean supplied from his corner.

Harry cracked one eye open and surveyed the room. "Ah, we're back at the trash heap again." He said with a wince. "Spectacular."

"I'd stop complainin' if I were you." Bobby said with a scowl.

"Well, you're not." Harry supplied laying an arm across his eyes. "And complaining is one of my favorite pastimes."

Castiel stepped away from Harry frowning. "Something is wrong with your head."

"Thanks for the news flash Cas." Dean grumbled.

"I'm not talking about the concussion or the dreamscape." Castiel supplied seemingly having understood Dean's sarcasm for once.

"Yes, well. I suppose I have your arsehole of an older brother to thank for that don't I?" Harry said and they could hear the barely there edge to his voice that suggested he was moments away from drifting off again.

"My brother?" Castiel said unsure what Harry meant. He had many older brothers.

"Lucifer. Guy's a….real prick." And then he was gone. His head lolled back against the pillow behind him and he fell into a more restful sleep.

Dean glanced nervously at Harry then at Castiel.

"Don't worry. He's just sleeping now." Castiel supplied.

"What did he mean by Lucifer?" Bobby asked suspiciously. "The kid's not playing meat suit to the devil is he?"

Castiel shook his head. "If Lucifer were using him as vessel Harry wouldn't survive for more than a few days."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"His magic would fight the possession. It would destroy the vessel. We would already be able to see signs of it."

Dean's eyes widened. "Whoa."

Castiel turned to Dean. "Will you help me find Raphael?"

"Give me one good reason I should."

"You are Micheal's vessel. No angel would dare harm you."

"Oh so I'm your bullet shield."

"I need your help because you are the only one who can help me."

Dean stopped, thinking about that. "Alright. Fine. Where is he?"

"Maine. Let's go."

Bobby shook his head as the two disappeared leaving him with an unconscious Harry. "Great." He muttered wheeling his way to the kitchen. He was hungry and he had a feeling that Harry could do with something too once he woke.

* * *

**Five chapters in, six if you count the prologue. I've got to say It's fun to write, and I've got a million ideas bouncing around about where this could go. **

**For those of a bit put out by Harry's less than large effect on the plot, don't worry. We'll get to a point where events start to change from canon, but that requires a lot of input on Harry's part and he's not really the person to jump in without reason. Well, not now anyway. We're not talking canon HPverse where he'd try to save an orphan from a toothache.  
**

**It'll all come together. Give it time. On the brighter side events should stop jumping around as often now that we've hit this season.  
**

**Well, I've run out of useful things to say so let me endorse a movie, watch The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Freaking movie had me in tears. That's all for now. 'Til next time!  
**

**~Kanathia  
**


	7. Ch 6: Minutias Adducite Magna Mutatio

**I finished the tenth chapter in order to release this one and trust me when I say the tenth chapter is gigantic. It took forever to write. **

**We've broken the 100 reviews barrier! Woot! Thanks for all the awesome reviews. I read every one of them. Some of you have even gotten messages back from me. Even more surprising is that we broke 3 thousand hits on this story in one day. I'm astonished and thankful that you guys like the story that much. Enjoy the chapter! Cheers!**

**Episodes: 5.6 I Believe the Children Are Our Future **

* * *

Bobby certainly hadn't expected the cot in his living room to remain occupied by the unconscious semi stranger for nigh on three days without even a sign of waking. He had started thinking it might be a smart move to bring him to a hospital simply to make sure the guy didn't starve to death by the time there was even a semblance of responsiveness.

It had started with Harry flipping once every few hours like someone coming out of a deep sleep who was hesitant to wake. Then, a few times, Bobby had heard him muttering under his breath. Finally, at about ten in the morning the fourth day after Dean had shown up on Bobby's doorstep with the guy, Harry woke up.

Bobby had been in the middle of a phone call and had nearly dropped the phone in surprise when he saw Harry sit bolt upright without any preamble. He seemed a bit disoriented if the confusion on his face was any indicator.

"I'll call you back later. Yeah." Bobby hung up setting the phone on his desk. "So you're finally awake, huh? I was starting to wonder if you'd gone into a coma or something."

Harry gaze slid to him from where it had been resting on his own hand. "I'm a bit too tired to supply witty banter." He said groggily. "After a supply of coffee or scotch I'd be more than happy to quip to your heart's content."

"Who says I want you running your mouth kid?"

Harry made a scoffing sound in the back of his throat. "My sarcastic remarks are the life of the party." He snapped back taking a proffered glass from Bobby. He frowned when he noticed the contents were simply water, but downed it anyway. His throat was beyond dry. "How long have I been asleep?"

"According to Dean, about five days." Bobby said rolling toward a doorway to Harry's right. Through it Harry could see a dusty kitchen. "Get your ass in here if you want something to eat."

Harry scrunched up his nose at the thought of eating anything that came out of that kitchen. Still, his stomach felt like it was gnawing on itself so he pushed back his objections. He made to stand only to fall backwards a bit confused. "Bloody hell." He muttered trying again to push himself onto his shaking legs. He grit his teeth and forced himself to make it as far as the wall that separated the two rooms. "I'm afraid I might have to borrow your wheelchair."

Bobby glanced back at him with a disapproving frown. Harry ignored the look and made the rest of the journey sighing with relief as he plopped into one of the shaky wooden chairs.

When Bobby turned back to the table with a tray of food resting over the arm rests it was to a resigned considering look from Harry. "What?" Bobby huffed rolling the few feet forward that were needed to bring him to the table. He lifted the tray and deposited it halfway between himself and Harry.

Harry blinked as if only just realizing he'd been staring himself. He shook his head the tiniest bit sliding over the bowl of soup Bobby offered. "Just wondering why I'm here of all places. I mean, the last time we met you weren't exactly pro…me…" Harry finished somewhat lamely scooping up a spoonful of soup and feeling its warmth radiate through him.

Bobby shook his head. "Kid, we're living through the apocalypse. I figure as long as you're not trying to kill us we're not enemies. I've got weirder things to deal with than your magic."

Harry scoffed. "I'm not a kid Mr. Singer." Harry said petulantly. "I haven't been in eons."

"If you act like a snooty twenty year old idjit I'm gonna treat you like one."

Harry snorted, a small smile growing on his face behind his spoon. What could he say? The old hunter was growing on him.

He scowled mentally. He'd long since promised not to make bonds that extended further than business. People died too easily and he'd done his fair share of grieving over the years, plus some. "So where are my knights in shining armor?" Harry asked, his uncaring shell firmly back in place. "I'd have assumed Dean would have at least liked to have stayed to gloat."

Bobby looked hesitant to answer at first, and Harry could respect that. He rarely told others where he was going either. After a moment of obvious internal debate he let out a sigh. "Last I heard, he's on his way back from Ohio."

Harry blinked. "What was he doing in Ohio?"

Bobby shrugged. "It's not like I keep a log on him."

Harry leaned forward contemplatively. "And Sam?"

Bobby instantly tensed. "What about Sam?"

"Where is he?" Harry watched Bobby's back with confusion. Why was Sam a topic of dissension when Dean hadn't been?

"What's it to you?"

Harry shrugged. "Call it curiosity." He said with a yawn. "You wouldn't happen to have a phone I could borrow would you?"

Harry could see Bobby's shoulders relax the slightest bit when Harry dropped the topic of Sam. Something had happened, and Harry was curious what. Bobby flipped his hand haphazardly toward the wall where a roughed up phone hung on the wall.

"Fantastic." Harry said standing, a little less wobbly now that he'd eaten something.

Bobby watched him stumble his way back into the living room. Castiel's assurances that Harry wasn't being possessed by Lucifer rang through his head, but he didn't trust it completely, and according to the call he'd gotten from a distraught Sam just days ago Lucifer was trying to find him. It had sent up mental red flags when the guy had started asking about Sam. Though he supposed, in retrospect, Harry was probably just making small talk.

* * *

"He's awake." Dean said tossing his phone to the side.

"Who?" Sam asked finishing cleaning a gun and setting it aside to move to the next. They'd met up just a day ago. Sam was still surprised he'd gotten that call from Dean at all.

"Harry." Dean supplied grabbing one of the guns himself.

Sam's hand slipped. "You mean he's been asleep this whole time?"

"Since Colorado, yeah." Dean said nonchalantly.

"Well is he okay?"

"As far as Bobby can tell." Dean said with a shrug, but Sam knew his brother and he could see there was something on his mind.

"Are we heading back to Bobby's?"

Dean shook his head. "Bobby says the guy called someone to pick him up. We've got a case."

Sam let out a less than subtle sigh. "Are we going to talk about it Dean?"

Dean glanced up. "What?"

"Why you were so hell bent on helping him in the first place. First you were gung ho for killing him and now you're acting like he's been your best friend for years. It's confusing."

Dean felt something in him that wanted to strike out with vicious words. He wanted to tell Sam exactly why he'd been so damned adamant about getting Harry help and it had everything to do with Sam starting the damned apocalypse. He wanted to say that the Sammy he knew would have insisted Harry get help too, that some integral part of Sam must be different for him to have been so callous as to not even wonder what had happened to the man, but some rational part of his mind reasoned that it would only cause more tension between them and they were barely back on the road together as it was. "The guy needed help Sam. I thought you liked him anyway. What's with you getting so upset over it all of a sudden?"

Sam looked ready to retaliate before he took a deep breath and let it go. "Where's the case at?"

* * *

"Alliance, Nebraska?" Harry said holding the phone closer to his ear. "You're sure?"

"_Yes I'm sure._" The voice on the other end replied sounding offended that he'd doubted her.

Harry frowned. "There hasn't been news of one in nearly a century and now one pops up. Why?"

An irritated huff greeted his question. "_I may be an information broker, but I don't know everything._"

"If I'm paying you for the information you'd better know everything." Harry snapped.

The phone line buzzed letting him know the irritating woman had hung up on him. He rolled his eyes flipping his spare cell phone shut and setting it down on the dashboard of his Camaro. He glanced out of the window and spotted his assistant Glenda in the gas station buying soda and some snacks. He could tell she'd been bursting with questions since she picked him up, but she kept it all wrapped up behind her business demeanor. She may have been his assistant for nearly three years now, but she was the type to put work first and she didn't want to risk her career by overstepping some invisible boundary. So she'd come to get him in South Dakota even though their workplace was in Wyoming and she'd had to drive two days to get there.

He smiled as she got back in the car holding out a fountain drink to him. He took it with a smile. He would have much preferred scotch, or any alcohol for that matter, but he knew it made most people nervous when he drank hard liquor while driving.

"Did you want me to drop you off at your house or at the office?" Harry asked slipping his sunshades back on.

"The office is fine." She said biting her lip.

Harry grinned as he sped down the road trying to keep his foot from growing too heavy on the pedal for Glenda's sake.

"Are you…" she started but seemed to trail off as if unsure if the question would upset him.

"You don't need to be so tense." Harry shot her a glance. "I'm not going to fire you for asking me a question."

She seemed to visibly relax at the statement. "Are you going to be back at work on Monday?"

Harry laughed. "The Sandover Company hassling you for an appointment again?"

She smiled slightly apologetically and he knew he'd hit the mark.

"Tell them they can come in Tuesday at three." Harry said thinking. "I don't have anything planned for then right?"

She shook her head. The woman had the most amazing memory. She was like a walking timetable.

"I owe you an apology and a thank you." Harry said with a sigh.

Her eyes widened comically. Harry had barely caught the incredulous look from the corner of his eye. "F-for what?"

"Well, I made you drive to South Dakota to pick me up after going missing for God only knows how long for starters." He said rubbing the back of his head. "You know I'd give you a promotion if I didn't care about losing the best secretary I've ever had."

He could see the sentence register in her head. There was a small bit of disappointment but mostly pride and that was what Harry had wanted to see.

"I suppose I'll have to settle for making you a really well paid secretary." Harry said with a remorseful sigh that was purely for theatrics. "And I believe this is your stop."

He swung the car around so that her door was facing the sidewalk in front of the building.

"We'll discuss your raise later." He said with a smile as she got out and shut the door. He left her standing there looking a bit bewildered.

* * *

Harry parked the car outside of his house and sighed. Grabbing the soda Glenda had bought him and the pack of gummies he'd requested he made his way for the front door. Once inside he focused and when he opened his eyes again he was glad to find himself in his closet. "Magic's working again." He muttered.

He'd been worried about trying to apparate from Bobby's to his house so soon after waking up so he'd called for a ride, but the sooner he was back to full power the better. It was never a good thing to be at half capacity when the devil was on your trail, and the devil was quite literally on Harry's trail.

He grabbed a pair of slacks, a button up, and a jacket and exited into his bedroom. It would be nice to wear his own clothes again. He picked at the T-shirt Bobby had lent him and grimaced. It reminded him far too much of those days long ago that he'd rather forget when he'd worn his cousin's hand me downs.

He peeled off the old clothing and threw it to the side walking nude through his room and just enjoying the feeling of being alone for a moment. The shower beckoned to him and he followed its call. He hadn't showered in nigh on a week if Dean's math could be trusted and the mere thought made his nose wrinkle in distaste.

He had washed his hair thrice and let the scalding water pound his skin for nearly half an hour before he deemed himself clean enough to face the world again. Then he donned his suit, relaxing into the familiar material.

He smiled grabbing his cell phone and googling the coordinates of the town he was about to try apparating to, and with a pop he was gone.

* * *

Harry popped up about half a mile out of town. Apparating into the middle of an occupied town just seemed like a stupid thing to do unless he was trying to call attention to himself, and he certainly wasn't.

He flipped open the small leather wallet he'd charmed to look like an FBI badge. He'd gotten the brief rundown of what was happening from his informant, but he was still being wary, and that meant not giving out his real name. So 'Maynard Cole' as his badge deigned him was gracing the town with his presence all in hopes of finding something he'd long thought to be a dying breed. A cambion.

He blinked owlishly as he neared the first diner he'd seen upon entering the town. A rather familiar car was parked in the spot furthest to the right. Most likely to avoid getting scratched or endangered in some other various way. If he'd judged Dean's personality traits relating to the Impala correctly he would be the type to do something of that ilk.

His first thought was 'why are the Winchesters here'? But he realized that the same signs that were pointing him towards his target had probably drawn in the brothers even if they had no idea what they were dealing with yet.

He frowned. He wasn't sure he wanted the Winchesters to find out about cambions yet. It put his own secrets at risk. He made his way as close as he could to the restaurant without being spotted by one of the overly astute hunters and then he threw up a weak invisibility spell. It was barely the thinnest of veils between himself and the world and if anyone so much as brushed him it would probably dispel, but he wasn't sure his magic reserves were up to a full one yet.

He waited for a patron to open the door and then he slipped through soundlessly. He made his way to the table Dean and Sam were occupying. The larger of the two men was studying a map with several red x's on it. Sam let out a sigh sending a glare at Dean who was shoveling fries into his mouth in volumes Harry was sure would make a normal person choke.

"What?" Dean said through a mouth of food.

Sam grimaced and Harry didn't blame him. At least he hadn't had to look directly at the chewed food.

"Should we really be stopping Dean?" Sam said sounding a bit pissy. "Whatever's doing all of this, it could strike again while you're eating your burger. Hell, it could do something to the burger."

Dean hesitated and drew the burger back to stare at it for a moment inspecting for obvious signs of tamper before simply resuming his eating. "We haven't eaten today Sam. Unlike you I can't keep running off of a salad once a day."

Harry fought down a snort. A salad would only improve the man's health, but he was sure Sam had already tried explaining that enough times and failed. He leant in close over Sam's shoulder gazing at the map the large man held. Dead center there was a circle and Harry smirked. Leave it to the two of them to do his work for him. Hell, he didn't even need that fake ID now, if the information was good.

His luck didn't hold, because at that moment Sam made to stand and Harry was still leaned forward. Sam's head connected with Harry's chin making his teeth click together painfully, but most importantly alerting the hunter that something had been hovering over him.

When Harry finally stopped rubbing his jaw and looked up from his new location on the floor it was to see both hunters tensed and ready for action, but looking around in slight confusion Harry shook his head. He supposed his spell had held then. He shifted to his feet and apparently that was when his magic decided to give out because both Winchester's eyes instantly glued to him. Tense silence filled the room, and he supposed by the lack of screams or other noise that no other muggles had seen his disappearing act. "Bloody hell your head is hard." Harry said rubbing his jaw by way of ice breaker.

* * *

Harry leaned back in the back seat of the Impala watching the Winchesters through the side window with amusement written clearly on his face. Why they trusted him not to apparate away the moment they turned their backs he had no idea. Perhaps they were just naively optimistic. He'd have bailed already if they hadn't taken him precisely where he wanted to go. He had even been generous enough to concede in not following the brothers up to the house while they investigated.

Dean passed by the window heading toward the small house they'd stopped in front of. It was the epicenter to all the strange things that were happening in town and Harry knew it was where the cambion lived. What he hadn't expected was a small child to open the door. He blinked as Sam and Dean were explaining their presence from the porch.

It was unmistakable. The boy was definitely the cambion. Energy flowed off of him making him light up like a beacon to Harry. It was no wonder his powers were running rampant and wreaking havoc. The boy had a fair bit of power, and Harry would put his money on no one ever teaching the kid how to suppress his abilities. As such he had no idea what he was doing. Harry shook his head. He'd been betting on finding some kid in his twenties who was having a stressful time and pitching his powers in ways even he didn't know about. Magic was unpredictable that way. Instead he was dealing with a prepubescent kid who hadn't the faintest idea what world he hailed from.

Harry had never felt more sympathy for Hagrid in his life. He'd give anything not to have to go in there and talk to that kid. He hated kids. But cambions were rare. A dying breed. If he let this one go there was no telling what would happen to it and subsequently if he'd ever find another. He let out a sigh watching the front door as the Winchesters reappeared.

He closed his eyes willing himself to the area just behind the house. He opened his eyes to find himself still firmly on the back seat. He let out a frustrated growl and crossed his arms. So his magic was still malfunctioning. Great. As always his magic chose the most awesome time ever to become finicky.

The front doors opened and Sam and Dean got in shooting him slightly disbelieving looks. So maybe they hadn't expected him to stay put after all. Well, at least they weren't as blindly trusting or idiotic as he'd pegged them to be.

"So why are you here?" Dean asked frowning as he started the car. "Last I heard you were getting a ride home from Bobby's."

Harry shrugged. "Something caught my attention. I figured I'd come investigate." He gave an answer while still remaining vague. He prided himself on his developed skills of evasion.

Sam said nothing, but Harry noticed that he looked particularly guilty, like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar before dinner. Harry shook his head. Dean seemed to be thinking on what Harry had said.

It only took a few minutes before they were pulling into a cheap motel. Harry scoffed. "Living the high life as always boys." He said getting out of the car.

Dean shot him an affronted glare, but he caught the faintest of smirks on Sam's lips. Harry just smiled in response to Dean's indignation approaching the hotel room Sam seemed to be heading for. He stopped several feet from the door drawing the brothers' attention.

"What is it?" Sam asked curiously pulling out the room key.

"There's someone in your room. I assume you didn't bring a tagalong." Harry said glaring at the window where he could feel the presence, but only vaguely.

Sam and Dean shared a look. Sam nodded drawing his gun and holding it ready. He silently unlocked the door grasping the handle and turning it as much as it would go before barreling into the room. He hesitated when he saw who was inside.

"Hello Sam." Castiel greeted with a nod.

Sam breathed a sigh of relief as Dean and finally Harry entered. Harry could feel the angel's gaze flicker to him in interest before returning to the brothers.

"I take it you got our message then?" Sam said putting away his weapon.

Dean closed the door as Sam sat down at the table. Harry stood precisely where he'd stopped upon entrance eyes glued to the angel. Wariness dictated all of his actions. The angel was acting strange, twitchy almost.

"It's lucky you found the boy." Castiel said and his eyes darted to Harry again.

"Oh yeah, real lucky. What do we do with him?" Dean bit out joining his brother at the table.

"Kill him." Castiel answered simply.

All three were shocked at the angel's bluntness. The light bulb nearest to Harry shattered drawing the brothers' attention. They'd never seen such a murderous look on his face. Dean felt his fingers twitch toward his gun.

"Kill him?" Harry echoed the words with venom.

Castiel didn't meet Harry's eyes preferring to address Dean instead. "This child is half demon half human, but he's far more powerful than either. Other cultures call this breed a cambion, but you know him as the antichrist."

"Jesse is the devil's son?" Sam asked skeptically.

"No. Your bible gets more wrong than it does right. The antichrist isn't Lucifer's son. It's just demon spawn. But it's one of the devil's greatest weapons in the war against heaven."

Sam glanced over when he swore he heard Harry hiss.

"Okay, so what's the kid doing in Nebraska?"

"The demons lost him. They couldn't find him, but they're looking." Castiel still refused to look in Harry's direction.

"Then they won't find him." Harry said through gritted teeth.

Dean looked between the two. "No offense dude." He said fixing Harry with a curious stare. "But why do you care so much?"

"You want to kill a child and you're questioning my motives?" Dean flinched at the accusation.

"He's right Dean." Sam said with concern growing on his face. "We're the good guys. We don't just go around offing innocent kids."

"A year ago you would have done anything to win this war." Castiel said accusingly.

"Things change." Sam said just as heated.

"Lucifer will twist that boy to his will, and with just a word he will destroy the host of heaven."

"Not if Lucifer can't find him." Harry said with a coldness in his voice that made Dean want to shiver.

"Look we can't kill him." Dean said stepping between Castiel and the other two. "But we can't just leave him here either. We know that. So, we take him to Bobby's. He'll know what to do."

Harry scoffed.

"You'll kidnap him? What is going on in this town, it's what happens when this thing is happy. You cannot imagine what it will do if it's angry. Besides, how will you hold him? With a thought, he could be halfway around the world." Castiel countered.

"So we-"

"We tell him the truth." Sam said. "You say he's destined to go dark side, but he hasn't yet. We lay it all out for him. He might make the right choice."

Castiel stepped forward. "You didn't." the words hung for a moment accusingly. "And I can't take that risk."

"Big words coming from the upstart of heaven." Harry said thickly. "So desperate to follow in the footsteps of your brother?"

"You're too invested in this. You shouldn't be here." Castiel bit out, and then he was gone.

"Fuck!" Harry let out the moment the angel was gone. He focused closing his eyes and willing himself back to the house he'd only seen the outside of earlier. When he opened his eyes he was still standing in the hotel room. He glared at the wall before turning to Dean. "Car. Now." He said marching out of the room with the Winchesters hot on his heels.

"What did Castiel mean?" Sam asked jogging to catch up to Harry's quick pace.

"About what? Half the time I can't make out what that moron is talking about. He covers his words in self righteous hubris." Harry bit out as he drew the door open.

"About you being invested." Sam said opening his own door but not getting in, in favor of watching Harry. "Why are you here?"

"To save the kid's life apparently." Harry bit out with a glare. "Though I might be too late if you don't take the lead out sasquatch. Now get in the car or I'm taking the damned thing myself."

Dean hopped into the driver's seat and started the engine while Sam lumbered in as well. "Don't threaten my baby." Dean said seriously.

Harry huffed, his eyes squeezing shut in concentration.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked catching the scrunched face he was making through the rear view mirror as he pulled out of the parking lot, wheels squealing against the asphalt.

"Trying to apparate." Harry answered opening his eyes when he heard Dean. "My magic is still off since I woke up. It couldn't have chosen a worse time apparently."

He scrunched his face again and Dean nearly swerved into a tree when the man vanished.

* * *

Harry opened his eyes and barely kept his feet as a wave of dizzy nausea hit him. He did belatedly notice that he was standing in a farmhouse. He took a few measuring steps to make sure he wasn't about to fall and then he rushed forward as silently as he could. He gave up on stealth as he spotted Castiel with a knife raised in front of a small child.

Harry hit the angel full force from the side barreling him into a small coffee table and knocking the knife from his hand. He hopped up as quickly as he could scowling at the angel. "You okay kid?"

"Y…yeah…" came the small voice behind him.

"You shouldn't have come." Castiel said standing and grabbing the knife. "There's nothing you can do. Your powers aren't working right now."

Harry glared. "I've had the problem before. I can still take on one sissy angel." It was true. Harry could take Castiel on. The angel himself was drained of power having been disconnected from heaven for so long, but even on his best day he couldn't kill Harry. Few things could. It was one of the reasons Harry was still walking around after having made enemies of pretty much every big bad out there. No, Harry would survive. It was just a matter of how much damage he would take, and whether or not he could save the boy.

Castiel lunged at him with the knife held in a striking position. Harry moved to intercept the arm only to find himself suddenly staring at blank air. He blinked, confused. He looked all around the room expecting Castiel to pop out of nowhere and either lunge for him or the kid. He glanced to the floor and saw a small figurine that looked surprisingly like Castiel.

Ignoring it he went up to the kid. Kneeling he frowned. "You alright?"

The kid nodded as the door slammed open behind Harry. He whipped around to find Sam and Dean standing there weapons drawn looking a bit discomfited to not see Castiel in the room as well.

"Where's Cas?" Dean asked eyes scanning the room.

Harry motioned with his head toward the small toy he'd left on the floor untouched. Dean stepped forward picking it up with no small amount of awe.

"Was he your friend?"

Dean looked around. "Him?" he said gesturing to the small toy. "No."

Harry snorted but didn't argue.

"I did that." The kid said staring at the miniature Castiel. "But how did I do that?"

"What's your name kid?" Harry asked standing back up now that he was sure the kid wasn't hurt. He felt the world spin a bit and felt himself tip. Sam put a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Jesse."

"You're a superhero." Dean said answering the kid's question.

"Don't patronize him." Harry said with a frown.

Dean gave him a look that said 'work with me here'. Harry shrugged.

"Why're you here?" Jesse asked, just a tinge of suspicion creeping into his voice.

"Well you see, my partner and I," Dean gestured to himself and Sam. "We work for a secret government agency that looks for kids with special powers like yours. In fact, we're here to take you to a base in South Dakota where they'll train you to fight evil."

"Like the X-men?" Jesse asked hopefully.

"Like the X-men." Dean said seemingly hopeful as well. "In fact the guy we're going to bring you to. He's even in a wheelchair. You'll be a hero."

Dean got no further in convincing Jesse as he was thrown at the wall, hard.

"They're lying to you." The woman's voice caught Harry off guard.

Sam moved forward, but he too was flung back to the wall where Dean was now being pinned. The demon glanced in Harry's direction before a look of recognition flitted across her face. She laughed flicking her wrist and sending the already dizzy man hurtling into a smaller wall across the room. He felt his head thud against the wall and hissed through his teeth trying to keep himself conscious.

"They told me you might be weak right now. Really taking a risk coming out this early in the game aren't ya?" the demon said with a smirk.

"Bite me." Harry managed to force out through the weight on his chest.

"Stay right there dreamboat." She said as Sam struggled to get out of the restraint. "Can't hurt you. Orders. You on the other hand." Her eyes landed on Dean. "Hurting you is encouraged."

She flicked her wrist again and Dean went flying to the opposite side of the room. Harry watched with passive eyes.

"Leave him alone!" Jesse yelled as Dean made contact with the starting wall again.

The demon leaned down looking Jesse in the eyes with a smile. "Jesse. You're beautiful." She said and Harry couldn't contain the sarcastic laugh that slipped his lips.

"Careful guys. Pedophile on the prowl." He snarked regretting it moments later when the weight on his chest increased and he spluttered trying to catch his breath.

"Stop it!" Jesse said with worried eyes turning to Harry. "Who are you!"

"I'm your mother Jesse." The demon said losing her focus on Harry and he drew a few ragged breaths as the weight lifted a bit.

"No you're not." Jesse said eyebrows drawing together in confusion and anger.

"Mmhmm." She said with a smile. "You're half human, half one of us. Kinda like that guy over there."

Jesse's eyes flickered to Harry, as did Sam's and Dean's. "She means demons!" Dean bit out.

"These people you call your parents they lied to you. You're not theirs, not really."

"My mom and dad love me."

"Do they?" she asked disbelievingly. "Is that why they leave you alone all day."

"God you're annoying." Harry spat and then the pressure was back.

"Everyone has lied to you. They're not FBI agents, and you're not a superhero."

"Then what am I?" Jesse asked turning back to the woman not noticing how Harry's face was going slowly from pale pink to red.

"You're powerful. You can have anything you want. Do anything you want." She said coaxingly.

Harry fought to speak, but there was no breath in his lungs to speak with. He wanted to kick himself for using his time to speak simply to insult the demon.

"Everyone lied to you. Wouldn't it be better if there were no lies? Come with me and you can wash it all clean. Imagine that…a world without lies."

"She's right. We lied to you." Sam got out. "But I'll tell you the truth."

He opened his mouth to speak again but it was obvious the demon was trying to crush his lungs as effectively as she was crushing Harry's, and Harry was barely conscious at this point face going purple from lack of oxygen.

"I just…want to…tell…"

"Stop it!" Jesse yelled and the weight holding Sam back gave way and he fell to the floor. "I want to hear what he has to say."

"We lied to you." Sam said almost apologetically, but his eyes were glued to Harry and he was stumbling over his words in his haste to get them out. "And I'm sorry. So here's the truth. My name is Sam Winchester. This is my brother Dean. That's Harry Potter. Dean and I hunt monsters."

"Except when you are the monster, right Sammy?" the demon goaded.

Sam ignored her. "And that woman right there, her name is Julia. She's your mom, but that thing inside of her…the thing you're talking to is a-"

Sam was cut off by Harry drawing in rasping breaths as he dropped to the floor. He hacked a bit almost as the act of breathing itself was unnatural after the long time without air.

"She's a demon." Sam said, some of the weight in his mind lifting though he was curious how Harry had been released.

"A demon?"

"He's done nothing but lie to you since you met him." The demon said sounding a bit panicked now that she realized she was far outnumbered with two of the men released. "Don't listen to him. Punish him."

"Sit down and shut up." Jesse said and a chair slid forward hitting the woman in the knees and making her sit.

"There's a…a sort of war between heaven and hell going on and…well…you're part of it." Sam continued.

"I'm just a kid."

Sam nodded with a sincerely apologetic look. "You can go with her if you want. I can't stop you. No one can, but if you do…millions of people die."

"She said I was half demon, is that true?"

"Yes, but you're half human too. You can do the right thing. You have choices, but if you make the wrong ones it'll haunt you for the rest of your life."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because I have to believe that someone can make the right choices. Even if I couldn't." Sam said guiltily.

Jesse seemed to consider it for a moment. "And him? She said he was like me."

Sam looked utterly nonplussed on this one. He wasn't sure how to address it as he'd just found out himself.

"I am." Harry said sounding a bit raspy. "To an extent."

"Did you come here with her?"

"I think it's kind of obvious I didn't." Harry bit out.

"Then why are you here?"

"I came to offer you sanctuary of course." Harry said with a smirk.

"Sanctuary?" Sam and Jesse said at the same time.

"Of course." Harry said pushing himself to his feet. "Personally I think going into hiding is your best option, especially considering how young you are. If we're going to keep talking about it though…I suggest we remove the fly on the wall." He turned a cold glare on the demon that had nearly asphyxiated him, granted he wouldn't have truly died, but it wasn't the most pleasant of experiences.

Jesse followed his gaze. He raised a hand and the chair slammed into the wall. "Get out of her." He said and black smoke began to billow from the woman's throat and it fled through the chimney.

Dean fell to the floor once the demon was gone. "How did you do that?" he asked breathing deeply.

Jesse shrugged. "I just did."

"Kid…you're awesome." Dean said plopping down onto the floor.

Jesse turned toward the limp woman in the chair. "Will she be alright?"

"Eventually." Sam said soothingly.

Dean picked up the action figure sized Castiel. "Look…uh, truth is, he's kind of a buddy of mine. Is there any way you could turn him back?"

"He tried to kill me." Jesse said harshly.

"Right." Dean said dejectedly. "But he's a good guy…he was just…confused."

"I wouldn't push your luck." Harry said stepping forward and rubbing his throat as if something was still lingering there from the rather unpleasant experience.

"What now?" Jesse said looking around expectantly.

"Now we take you someplace safe. Get you trained up. You'd be handy in a fight kid." Dean said with a smile.

Harry rolled his eyes.

"What if I don't want to fight?"

"Jesse…" Sam started, but he stopped when Harry moved forward.

"I told you I came to offer you sanctuary right?" he said and the brothers blanched in surprise at the genuine level of emotion in his voice. "I meant it. No fighting, no demons, no angels."

Jesse smiled brightly, but it seemed to diminish a bit as a thought hit him. "My parents?"

Harry smiled slightly. "Of course." He said leaning back. "I can't exactly take a…erm…how old are you?"

"Nine."

"I can't exactly take a nine year old without any guardians." Harry said with theatrical frown. Then he leaned down and whispered something in Jesse's ear handing him a piece of paper. Jesse opened the folded paper and then glanced at Dean and Sam.

Without warning they found themselves back in the motel room. "Son of a bitch!" Dean exclaimed twisting around as if the violent gesture would suddenly make the room they had just been in reappear.

Sam just frowned.

"And the Impala's still at the house!" Dean said throwing back the curtains to verify his claim. "How are we going to get back?"

Sam shrugged. "Walk?"

"I hate walking." Dean whined. "Besides, they'll be long gone before we can make it back."

They shared a moment of silence thinking and neither came up with anything that could get them there faster so they made for the door.

"They're already gone."

The gruff voice had them both twisting in surprise.

"Cas?" Dean said in relief. He wasn't sure if the kid would leave him in action figure form forever.

"Where'd they go?" Sam asked.

"I don't know." Castiel admitted. "He put everyone in town back to normal and then they vanished. I checked the house but there were no clues."

"How do we find him?"

"We don't. With the boy's powers, it's improbable we'd find them even if we spent months searching. Add to that Harry's powers and it's nearly impossible. All we can do is hope that Harry hasn't decided to hand him over to Lucifer."

Sam blinked in surprise. "Why would he do that?"

Castiel fixed Sam with a level look. "His very existence is an anomaly. I don't know what he will do, but we can't rule out the possibility that he will attempt to join Lucifer's forces."

Sam swallowed a lump in his throat. "We don't know that Cas." Sam said sending Dean puppy eyes.

Dean shrugged. "He hasn't done anything yet. Maybe he won't go dark side."

"Optimism will only go so far in this war." Castiel said harshly before he vanished leaving the brothers with a sense of foreboding and matching frowns.

* * *

**A few more secrets revealed…and a few more questions raised I'm sure. I meant to put this out yesterday, but a late night drinking Saturday coupled with the sheer amount of writing I did on the newest chapter I'm writing slowed progress. **

**It's here now though so let me know what you think. For those curious Harry's background is particularly complex so it would probably take me forever to have Harry monologue about it. Enjoy the little pieces you're getting because slowly the puzzle will fill in. The mystery…it's killing some of my readers lmao.**

**Well, that's all for now! I'm going to go decide how I want to do chapter 11 now. Have a good weeks. 'Til next time!**

**~Kanathia**


	8. Ch 7: A Praeterita Reuelata

**I would like to say thanks again for the number of review, likes, favorites, and follows this story has received. To everyone who left me a bit of advice in their review. I try to learn from my mistakes. You may not notice an immediate difference in chapter writings, as I have stock piled chapters, but I am incorporating your advice to some extent in later chapters. I thank you for the advice I've received. I enjoy criticism as long as it's constructive. I'm still learning the art of writing and probably will be for as long as I write. No one ever gets it perfect. Please have patience with me. ^^**

**Episodes: 5.08 Changing Channels**

* * *

Harry made sure that Jesse and his parents were rather well adjusted in their new life in Malibu before he returned to his home in Wyoming. After all, how often did the evil things come out to play on the sunny beaches of California? With Jesse's permission he'd implanted a few fake memories in the Turners' heads so that they'd think they'd moved there several weeks ago so that Jesse's father could work for one of Harry's smaller subsidiary companies.

Overall Harry had the urge to pat himself on the back. He'd done a splendid job covering the family's tracks. He'd even left Jesse with an address to teleport to if anything went wrong. Not that he expected anything to go wrong. Hell he even had a few spells circling the boy to tell him if anyone, or anything, with ill intent approached. Yes, this was a masterpiece.

He poured himself a glass of scotch and checked his watch. Four AM. Still a bit early to head over to the office, but hell, he'd been gone for forever he may as well catch up on the work he'd missed. One quick apparation later and he was strutting about his office secure in the fact that no one but him would be here this early in the morning.

He hummed tunelessly as he strolled around pulling out the necessary stamps and other such things needed to complete the paperwork piled on the left most corner of his desk.

"Haven't seen you this happy in a while."

Harry heaved a long suffering sigh before slamming the drawer he'd been shuffling through shut. "What do you want Gabriel?"

"I can't come to check up on my favorite harbinger of doom?" Gabriel sounded absolutely appalled that someone might even hint that he was doing otherwise.

"You're hilarious." Harry deadpanned dropping into his chair. "But we can't all be doped up on happy pills all the time. Now answer my question or leave. I won't have you ruining my mood this early in the morning."

Gabriel took up his spot in his normal chair with a broad grin. "I heard you got in on the whole 'apocalypse' thing." Gabriel said resting his chin against a hand and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"That so?" Harry said signing the first document he picked up without even reading it. It was an expense report from what he could tell from the cursory glance.

"Last I heard you were neutral. Just thought I'd pop in see which team you're rooting for."

"I'm rooting for team 'get the hell out of my office'." Harry said not bothering to glance up. "I've heard their odds of winning are astronomically high."

Gabriel chuckled, but it seemed forced even to Harry.

"Don't you have places to go?" Harry said finally setting down his pen and stamp and glaring over the top of his tower. "People to trick?"

Gabriel frowned, but he was gone a moment later and Harry let out a sigh. Things were getting complicated... again.

* * *

Harry snapped out of his half awake daze when one of the men in front of him cleared their throats. He blinked bringing the room back into focus and the droning voice of the Sandover's presenter came with the image nearly lulling him back to sleep. They couldn't have chosen a less charismatic person if they'd visited the coma ward at a hospital.

He let the man drone on for another twenty minutes before something caught his attention. Power waves rippled through the air and Harry felt himself perk up a bit. They were Gabriel's; that much he was certain of. They were similar to the ones he'd felt from Florida all those months ago. His curiosity was piqued.

He cleared his throat garnering the attention of the rest of the men in the conference room who all seemed to be enthralled in the little dominance display they were trying to put on for him. They were seeking a partnership, and it was something Harry was very reluctant to give.

"I'm afraid I have somewhere to be gentlemen. If you could wrap this up." He said rolling one hand in a 'hurry up' motion and resting his chin on the other. He was the picture of disinterest, and considering he was the only person from Harry's company that had bothered to attend the meeting it wasn't boding well for the Sandover lackeys.

A few of the men seemed disgruntled by Harry's nonchalant dismissal of their apparently rather well thought into presentation. He raised his eyebrows daring them to challenge his decision. No one spoke up, apparently too worried they'd screw up any chance at a deal.

"Good meeting then." Harry said standing and sliding his folder toward him. "My secretary will make sure all your needs are taken care of. If you'll excuse me."

He left them blinking in confusion. Glenda stood outside of the door a small smile on her face. She knew how much he hated meetings like this. She took the folder from him. "I'll be in my office." Harry said passing her. "Put up the do not disturb sign. Go home when you're done." He waved over his shoulder knowing that woman was trying not to laugh at his flippant tone. She tried to maintain a professional tone to compensate for his lack of one.

He frowned upon entering his office and paused only to lock the door behind him. His office was the only one on this floor but he still insisted that the elevator not open directly into the room for privacy's sake. He spent the majority of his days in here after all. Besides, he chose the building layout, so he got to throw in little addendums when he thought them necessary, even if the architect in charge had been irked by the changes to his plans.

He closed his eyes focusing on the power he'd felt surging forth earlier from Gabriel. He felt his head tip slightly to the side when he got a lock on the location. "Ohio?" he said pouring half a glass of scotch and downing it. He filled the cup again. "I always catch him in the strangest of places."

He shrugged debating on whether he'd pop over to see what all the buzz was about.

"Why the hell not?" He muttered.

* * *

He hadn't expected to apparate straight into a hospital. No, if his coordinates were right he should be in a factory. He squinted and the wall wavered. "Ah, an illusion then." He murmured watching the doctors and patients bustle past him, a few giving him odd looks. He smiled in turn taking off in a random direction, sure that Gabriel would show himself when he wanted to.

"Lady! What the hell!" Harry tilted his head curiously and turned in the direction of the exclamation.

He stopped mid-step taken aback by Dean and Sam Winchester wearing scrubs and white lab coats. His eyes widened and he saw Dean spot him and nudge Sam. Then the dam broke and he burst into laughter. He put one hand the nearest wall to support himself he was shaking so bad.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up chuckles." Dean said, approaching.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" Sam asked bewildered by Harry's abrupt appearance and rather uncharacteristic show of emotion.

"You two? Doctors? That's just brilliant." Harry said wiping away a tear. He had to admit, annoying as he found Gabriel sometimes the man was brilliant.

"Answer the man." Dean said threateningly.

Harry felt a tap on his shoulder and suddenly Sam and Dean were wheeling around trying to locate him like he wasn't still standing in front of them. Harry turned to see Gabriel there with a slight frown on his face. "You know, annoying as those two chuckleheads are, they raise a good question. Why are you here?"

Harry shrugged. "I felt your powers again. Thought I'd investigate. I haven't laughed that hard in a while." Harry said putting a hand on his stomach. "Amusing as I find all of this though, why are you doing it?"

"An answer for an answer?" Gabriel said with a smile, and suddenly they were standing in the warehouse Harry had supposedly apparated into earlier. "I'm trying to get them to play their roles."

"Their roles?" Harry said with confusion before knowing spread on his face. "As vessels?"

"No, as meter maids. Yes, as vessels!" Gabriel said throwing his hands in the air a bit too dramatically.

"Since when did you jump on the apocalypse band wagon?" Harry asked eyebrow raised.

Gabriel scoffed. "Didn't you jump on first?"

Harry shook his head and with a wave of his hand a chair appeared behind him and he plopped into it. "No, I didn't." he exclaimed harshly. "What gave you that idea?"

Gabriel blinked seemingly taken aback. "I thought you were all for Lucifer's popping the box…"

"Well he's already done that." Harry said with a frown. "But no, I don't want the world to end Gabriel."

Gabriel seemed to think on that.

"So what are the Winchesters up to right now?" Harry asked with a smile. "I do hope it's entertaining. I had the most boring meeting before coming over."

Gabriel grinned wickedly and snapped his fingers and Harry found himself standing in a forest clearing watching a woman slowly contort into a yoga pose. Harry raised an eyebrow in Gabriel's direction, but the wild grin on his face made Harry turn his attention back to the woman who was now smiling in their direction. "I've got genital herpes." She said with confidence that Harry was sure someone with that problem shouldn't have. He choked on his own breath.

Suddenly they were standing in an older home and a man was sitting in a worn down chair. "I've got genital herpes." The man said looking in their direction yet again with an odd smile on his face. Harry grimaced.

The scene shifted again and they were standing on a basketball court watching four men try to get a ball through the hoop. He spotted Dean, and then Sam when he caught the ball and turned in their direction.

"Oh god no." Harry said with wide eyes pulling out his phone and deftly flicking through the apps to the video camera.

"Seriously?" Sam hissed in Dean's direction.

"Hey, you're the one who said to play our roles." Dean said a bit too smugly clapping Sam on the shoulder.

The taller man shivered. "Right…" he said hesitantly. "I…I have genital….herpes."

Both Harry and Gabriel burst into laughter at the same time, and Harry kept the phone aloft just barely.

They shifted back to the woman doing yoga. "I try to be responsible." She said and Harry was completely convinced she was looking straight into his camera.

Living room again. "Did I try." The old man said placing a hand on an older woman's hand. Harry couldn't repress the shiver.

"But now I take twice daily Herpexia to lessen my chances of passing it on."

Harry snorted closing out the camera function. He found himself back in the warehouse with Gabriel beside him still shaking with laughter.

"I think I understand the appeal of being a trickster now." Harry admitted with a smirk.

Gabriel straightened beside him suddenly a bit more serious.

"Something wrong?"

Gabriel snapped his fingers and they were standing on the outside of a set door. Harry could hear the audience laughing at whatever was on the other side. Harry lifted an eyebrow, following sedately when Gabriel burst in to the set drawing cheers from his fake audience. "Hello!" he called giving a fond wave to his imagined viewers and gaining scornful looks from Sam and Dean. "Thank you, thank you ladies. Hi Castiel!"

Harry blinked shutting the door behind him. He hadn't received any applause, but he wasn't exactly disheartened for it. He'd known Gabriel was a bit self centered since the first time they met. Gabriel snapped his fingers and the other angel disappeared.

"You know him?" Sam asked confused then his eyes caught Harry and he gave him a confused look.

"Where did you just send him?" Dean asked obviously worried.

"Relax, he'll live…maybe."

Laughter echoed from the audience.

"Alright. I am done with the monkey dance. We get it okay?"

"Yeah? Get what hotshot?" Gabriel bit back.

"Playing our roles right? That's your game?"

"That's half the game." Gabriel said mockingly.

"What's the other half?" Sam asked eyes flicking between Harry and Gabriel.

"Playing your roles out there."

Sam caught the eye roll from Harry and it only served to confuse him more.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh you know. Sam starring as Lucifer. Dean starring as Micheal. Play, your roles."

"You want us to say yes to those sons of bitches?" Dean ground out.

"Hells yeah. Let's light this candle!" Gabriel said with far too much energy.

"We do that, and the world will end."

"Yeah? And whose fault is that? Who popped Lucifer out of the box? Look it's started, you started it. It can't be stopped, so let's get it over with."

Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose, irritation growing.

"Heaven or hell, which side you on?"

Harry had to repress the urge to laugh. Luckily he'd already laughed a decent amount that day. It was obvious the brothers still hadn't worked out exactly what Gabriel was.

"I'm not on either side." Gabriel said harshly. Apparently he hadn't found it quite so amusing.

"Yeah right. You're grabbing ankle for Micheal or Lucifer. Which one is it?"

Gabriel twisted quickly pinning Dean against the wall. "You listen to me you arrogant dick. I don't work for either of those S.O.B.'s. Believe me."

"Oh you're somebody's bitch." Dean spat and Harry caught his eyes flicking in his direction.

"Don't you ever! Ever presume to know what I am." Gabriel said emphasizing the point by slamming Dean back into the wall again.

"Alright." Harry said stepping forward. "That's enough. You've each had your little pissing contest. Put it away."

Gabriel scowled but the look on Harry's face kept him from arguing. "Alright listen closely. Here's what's gonna happen. You're going to suck it up, go out there and accept your responsibilities, and play the roles destiny has given you."

Harry cleared his throat harshly and when Gabriel turned to see his face a venomous glare met him. Harry opened his mouth and Gabriel snapped his fingers. The Winchesters were surprised to find the room with one less person. They shared nervous glances.

* * *

Harry tapped his foot in annoyance waiting for Gabriel to man up and face him again. He could force his way back into the illusions that the Winchesters were playing through, but that wouldn't help him confront the angel. Not when Gabriel was the one who controlled the illusion.

What he hadn't expected was for a flaming circle to erupt on the other end of the factory. Harry blinked as Gabriel came into focus through the flames. Then the Winchesters were standing there just outside of the flames as well. "Well played boys. Well played. Where'd you get the holy oil?"

"Well you might say we pulled it out of Sam's ass." Dean quipped, and Harry noted the awkward shift of the taller man. What in the world had Gabriel made them enact after he'd left?

"Where'd I screw up?"

"You didn't. Nobody gets the jump on Cas like that."

"But mostly it was the way you talked about Armageddon." Dean finished Sam's sentence.

"Meaning?"

"Well, call it personal experience, but nobody gets that angry unless they're talking about their own family."

"So which one are you? Grumpy? Sneezy? Or Douchey?"

"Gabriel." Harry answered having approached while the three had their little heart to heart. He rolled his eyes at the look Gabriel gave him. "Oh please. You were about to tell them anyway."

"Gabriel? The archangel?" Sam said with wide eyes.

"One in the same." Harry said with a frown.

"Guilty." Gabriel admitted.

"How does an archangel become a trickster?"

"That's the million dollar question isn't it?" Harry said with a huff.

"So you're really here then?" Dean said with a scoff. "I thought you were just part of his illusion."

Harry blinked. "I didn't realize you swung that way." He said conjuring a chair next to the holy fire while Dean reeled back surprised. Harry snapped his fingers and a long metal wire with two marshmallows on the end appeared in thin air. He caught it and lowered it over the flames with a smile. "It's like camping indoors."

"So what, you're just gonna sit there and act like the world isn't going to hell around you?" Dean accused.

"You learn to enjoy the dull moments." Harry said pulling the marshmallow back and prodding it gently, seemingly unsatisfied with the results he put it back over the flame.

"What did you do with Jesse?"

"I brought him somewhere safe where neither side of this little squabble can get a hold of him." Harry said with a frown.

"Squabble?" Gabriel said disbelievingly.

"Oh please Gabriel, there's no need to be dramatic." Harry said checking the marshmallows again before offering one to the imprisoned angel who plucked it from his fingers warily. "I've seen a lot of cataclysmic events in my time. You grow rather used to them after a while. People always seem to think the world will end, but as usual it keeps spinning. If a bit differently at times."

Gabriel didn't look convinced, but he didn't seem to want to push his luck while trapped either.

"You're a cambion right?" Sam said stepping forward and addressing Harry with some hope. "That means you're half human. Don't you care what happens to the world? Humans will be-"

Harry shook his head and Sam stopped speaking. "You-" he motioned between Dean and Sam. "Got the smallest glimpse of information about me, and now you think you can make accurate assumptions about what my will towards the world should be?"

Sam caught Gabriel backing away from Harry, and suddenly Sam knew he'd said something wrong.

"You don't know the faintest sliver of what I am!" Harry roared and the fire nearest to Harry jumped upwards about four feet. "I've watched eons pass. I've seen this world torn apart and created more times than I can count, and now that you've set about the end once more you think-"

Harry suddenly went quite, hand over his face. Slowly the flames flickered back to their usual height. Harry let out a small laugh that almost seemed preternaturally loud in the silent room, before he simply vanished leaving the armchair as reminder of what had just happened.

Gabriel clapped slowly. "Congratulations guys." He said looking somewhat impressed. "You just managed to piss off one of the most powerful people alive. Let's not mention the fact that I've never actually seen him that angry before."

"Who the hell is he?" Dean bit out a little shocked.

"Why would I tell you that?" Gabriel said screwing up his face in confusion. "I don't want him to torch my ass the next time we meet."

"Where is Cas?" Sam asked not spotting the angel anywhere in the rather large abandoned warehouse.

"Away." Gabriel said vaguely with a smirk. "So boys, now what? We gonna stare at each other for the rest of eternity?"

"Well first off you're gonna bring Cas back from where ever you stashed him." Dean growled.

"Oh am I?"

"Yeah, or we're gonna dunk you in holy oil and deep fry ourselves an archangel."

Gabriel gave him an unimpressed look, but snapped his fingers. Castiel appeared shakily behind Sam.

"Cas, you okay?"

"Fine." He replied wobbling only a bit. "Hello Gabriel."

"Hey bro. How's the search for Daddy going? Let me guess. Awful."

Castiel glared petulantly at the archangel in response. Then he turned to the brothers. "I sensed another presence."

"Harry?" Dean asked. Castiel nodded. "Yeah he flew the coop a few minutes ago."

"Why?" Castiel's head tilted in confusion.

"I…think I might have said something to upset him." Sam admitted rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, let's get out of here." Dean said turning for the door.

Sam and Castiel followed Dean's lead.

"Uh, okay, guys." Gabriel said moving closer to the flames despite the threat they posed to him. "So what? You're just gonna leave me here forever?"

Dean stopped allowing Sam to pass him. He pulled the fire alarm expecting the sprinklers to turn on. The machine squawked weakly once and then stilled. Dean blinked. "Huh…well that's not what I was expecting. Guess you'll have to figure something out for yourself won't you mister archangel?"

Gabriel stared disbelievingly as Dean exited the building. Castiel hesitated at the door, but eventually followed.

"Gits."

Gabriel whipped around at the sound to see Harry standing just outside the flames holding a glass of scotch in one hand the bottle in the other. He swallowed. "How long have you been there?"

"Never left really." Harry said sauntering over to his chair and plopping into it. "Just got a tad upset and popped back to my office to grab some scotch. Decided invisibility would be a good way to calm down once I was back."

Gabriel was immensely relieved he'd decided not to tell the brothers what, or rather who, Harry was. "Think you could do something about…" he gestured to the ring of fire.

Harry raised one hand into the air and then slowly brought it down. The flames lowered with it, until they flickered and died. Gabriel let out a sigh of relief.

"I think it's time we talked Gabriel." Harry said snapping his fingers. Another armchair appeared across from his. As did a small table with a few chocolate bars on it.

"About what?"

Harry motioned around him. "This. All of it." Harry said bitterly. "The apocalypse. Your brothers. What you were doing today."

* * *

Dean stopped back at the hotel to grab their stuff before they headed out again. Neither Dean nor Sam wanted to be caught off guard by an arch angel that had figured out where they were sleeping so they headed for the next case they had lined up somewhere in Michigan. For some reason Castiel stayed with them. He just sort of tagged along and Dean supposed it might be because he wanted to make sure that Gabriel didn't come after them.

Dean glanced in his rear view mirror and frowned upon seeing Castiel looking right back at him.

"So Cas-"

"Yes Dean?" Castiel said before he could even finish his question, then again Dean hadn't known what he was going to ask and would likely have paused anyway.

He hesitated settling on what was bugging him the most as Sam shifted to glance back at the angel. "This Harry guy, you gonna tell us who he is now? Gabriel mentioned he was one of the big bads so maybe leaving us in the cold isn't such a great idea?"

Castiel seemed to consider it. "The information might be pertinent to your continued survival." He admitted. "His name is Harry Potter. There isn't actually a word for what he is."

"What do you mean there's not a word?" Sam asked unable to contain his curiosity as usual.

Castiel sent him a measuring glance. "He's the only one of his kind that has ever existed in this universe." Castiel said turning his attention back to Dean.

"Wait I thought he was a cambion or whatever, and that Jesse kid was one wasn't he?"

Castiel shot an annoyed look in Dean's direction. "He's not _a_ cambion. He's _the_ cambion." Castiel corrected. "He's the original, but in his universe that didn't mean the same thing."

"His universe?" Sam said eyes growing wide.

Castiel hesitantly nodded. "The universe has been destroyed and recreated numerous times."

"Okay…" Sam said, a bit paler. "So, what did it mean to be a cambion in his universe?"

"It simply meant the being was born with mixed blood. One half human, another half being from a higher or lower order of being." Castiel said eyes flicking to every part of the car but them.

"So he's not half demon half human?" Dean asked confused. Castiel shook his head. "Then what is he?"

"He's half human, half of his universes equivalent of angel."

Dean pulled the car over to the side of the road. He could handle a lot of weird, but this was just getting freaky. "The guy's half angel? Why didn't the holy fire scare him then?"

"He doesn't possess our weaknesses." Castiel said with an almost bitter undertone. "The swords don't work on him either, not even the archangel's blade can kill him now. The mixed blood gave his species inherent powers with none of the weaknesses. Essentially they were mortal to begin with, but he moved beyond that."

"His species? So there were more like him?"

"To an extent." Castiel conceded.

"But wait, there's already a word for half human, half angel offspring. Nephilim." Sam interrupted. Dean shot him a look that clearly said he thought his brother was a nerd.

"That word did not exist in his universe." Castiel explained. "And in this world it's a misrepresentation. Nephilim are in no way related to angels. They're actually the offspring of imps and-"

"And not important right now Cas." Dean cut the angel off not really wanting to know what an imp could procreate with.

"So what, bits and pieces of past universes make it into the new one?" Sam asked eyebrows scrunched together.

Castiel shook his head. "Not exactly." he answered with certainty. "He is…an anomaly."

"You're gonna have to get more specific Cas." Dean bit out.

"He mastered death." Castiel said with a frown.

"You can master death?" Sam asked, eyes wide.

"We can't. No one in this world can. There were balances put in place once God realized how strong his creations were becoming." Castiel answered.

"So he doesn't want anyone to become as strong as him?" Dean asked condescendingly.

"Those who seek power generally misuse it. Would you allow them to rule this world?" Castiel replied with heat.

Dean bit back a retort. "So why doesn't God just…smite him, or whatever it is God does to people he doesn't like." Sam asked genuinely curious.

"It's not that simple." Castiel replied.

"How so?"

"He mastered death, however unintentionally he did it. His survival through the recreation of the world is strong evidence that he cannot be killed by conventional means."

"But he can be killed?" Sam caught on to the way the statement had been phrased as usual.

Castiel was silent for along moment. "Yes." He supplied finally. "But he was a warrior for the light in his world."

A sort of awkward silence met that before Dean blurted out. "You mean like me?"

Castiel shook his head. "He willingly sacrificed himself for a nation of people. He earned God's grace, and in return God doesn't actively seek his destruction any longer. He allows him to exist because Harry does not actively seek to destroy his creations."

"Gee. God sounds like a real swell guy. 'Allowing' him to live and all." Dean sneered as usual when the topic turned to the 'invisible man in the sky'.

"There's something you're not telling us." Sam said suspiciously eying the angel.

"What do you mean?" Castiel said tipping his head in the familiar confused fashion.

"He really didn't like angels." Dean recalled suddenly. "What's that about?"

Castiel shifted in the back seat uncomfortably and then was gone. Dean hit the steering wheel. "Fucking angels!" he yelled hoping Cas could still hear him. "No wonder he doesn't like you dicks."

* * *

Gabriel sat contemplatively at the edge of his seat. For once he had foregone the chocolate bar. He seemed to be thinking on what Harry had said, but it was always hard to tell with Gabriel. For all Harry knew he was planning out his next big prank. "So you tried to stop them?"

Harry nodded. "I tried to maintain neutrality, but I'm not sure how much longer that stance can hold." He answered honestly. He knew Gabriel was in a similar boat to him. Neither had ties one way or the other in this fight. Both were independent of obligations. Harry because he held no current contracts or relations with demons or angels, and Gabriel because he'd long since cut his ties with his brothers.

Gabriel fell into contemplative silence again. "So which team are you rooting for?"

"My own." Harry said with a smirk. "As usual."

Gabriel perked up a bit at that. "Your own?"

Harry smiled. "I've never been a fan of sports with only two teams…too predictable. Switching up the lineup is completely within the realms of possibility in this spat so why not do it? You see the main issue here is that team heaven and team hell both want the apocalypse to play out. They want Dean to accept Micheal and Sam to accept Lucifer and then they want them to duke it out. Problem there is half, if not all, of the planet gets taken down in the cross fire. Now, I've worked hard to build up my company, and to gain the assets I have. I don't want some petty fight over who gets the playground to destroy that. I've rebuilt a few too many times for that."

"What if Micheal could beat Lucifer without destroying the world?"

"That's a big if." Harry said leaning back in his chair and sipping at his scotch. "And even _if_ that happened chances are the best humans can hope for is subjugation. Slaves don't make good business clients."

"So how do you plan to stop them?"

"Well I contemplated killing the Winchesters but time has proven again and again that those two don't stay dead for long." Harry tapped his chin. "I suppose there isn't a complete solution for now. I've been playing it by ear for the moment."

"Then you know that demons are on the move?"

"Pardon?"

"I don't know what their plan is, but there have been a lot of them on the move lately. Omens are going crazy."

"I hadn't heard." Harry drew his eyebrows together frowning. "I suppose it would be negligent to just hope it's nothing important."

* * *

**A shorter chapter. Sorry about that, but at last you have a few more pieces of the Harry puzzle. More to unfold on that later. Next chapter shall be completely of my own design. No episodes correlate to it. I was excited to write it. **

**It will be a few more chapters before we reach what I'd like to call 'canon break'. I haven't actually hit that point in my writing yet but I have planned approximately when it will happen. There will still be episode correlation to a certain extent but the story won't be nearly as canon centric as it is now.**

**I hope the promise of that is enough to keep people reading for now. If you really don't like story line following you might like the other HP/SPN fic I'm writing right now. I'm not sure when I release that one though. I have way too many projects right now. Eergh.  
**

**Well, I'll end the author's note here. 'Til next time!**

**~Kanathia**


	9. Ch 8: Deorum et Lenociniis

**I've received a disturbing number of reviews and pm's saying Sam Winchester is a whiny douchebag and other such things and that I'm being too easy on him. I would like to alert reviewers to the fact that while I'm not exactly a Sam fangirl I don't hate him either. I won't mischaracterize him simply because defamation is popular. He has his faults as a character just as Dean does. So let's play nice, yeah?**

**Episodes: None this time folks. Just enjoy.**

* * *

"Bobby's pretty sure he's got a case." Sam said flipping his phone shut and turning to Dean who was currently gorging on a cheeseburger.

Dean raised an eyebrow in question, not bothering to stop eating.

Sam sighed. "Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Bobby says there have been a series of strange deaths."

"Strange how?" Dean asked wiping some sauce from his chin with his finger.

"Well, two people have been struck by lightning in the past week. Another victim's sister says the girl claimed to be 'stalked by cats' all day before she was found dead in an alley looking to have been mauled by a 'large cat'. My favorite though is the guy who swears he was nearly beat to death by his grade school teacher wearing a tutu."

"That is strange." Dean agreed taking the last bite of his sandwich. "Let's go."

Sam rolled his eyes but followed.

* * *

"How many of them were broken into?" Harry asked irately as he paced back and forth in his office.

"_Just one._" The man on the other end said nervously.

"I expect better service if something like this happens again. I have valuable things kept those storage rooms."

"_Yes sir._"

Harry hung up rubbing his head. He could feel a massive headache forming again.

"A bit harsh." Gabriel pointed out.

"You seem to have taken up the habit of popping into my office whenever you feel like it." Harry noted sourly. "I wish you'd break it."

"Oh come on." Gabriel pleaded leaning forward. "You're interesting. I'm interesting. What's not to like about this partnership?"

Harry rolled his eyes.

"So what was stolen?"

"Only a few objects from the sound of it." Harry said not looking at the angel. "But it could be…problematic."

"How so?" Gabriel asked curiously.

"Why are you here instead of tricking people. Isn't that your normal MO?"

"With all the angels swarming Earth these days?" Gabriel asked disbelievingly. "I have to keep a low profile for a while."

"And you decided to do that in my office? Brilliant." Harry muttered.

"So, any idea where your stolen valuables are?" Gabriel said leaning back and propping his feet up on the small table in front of his chair and effectively diverting the conversation from himself.

Harry glared at the man's feet for a second. "One." He said waving his hand and a sheet of paper flew from his desk to Gabriel.

"Rolling Meadows, Illinois…man severely bludgeoned says it was long dead school teacher?" Gabriel read out loud then snickered. "You think this is where whatever it is that was stolen is?"

Harry nodded with a sigh. "I got a lead from someone about two days ago. I called around to the storage facilities where I keep some of my items, and one of them has had a break in."

"So what's the problem?" Gabriel asked placing the paper on the table. "Just go get the stuff back."

Harry shot him a glare. "Walking into a ticking time bomb isn't my idea of a good time. I've been trying to figure out what was stolen so I can deal with it properly."

"Did you?"

Harry rubbed his face. "I might have." He admitted.

"And?"

"Speculations later." Harry said pushing his glass away. "I need to get on the road."

"Can't you just…you know…zap your way over or something?" Gabriel asked curiously.

"I'd rather not set off the alarms on my way into town if there are any. It's a good way to get yourself ambushed." Harry heading for the exit he paused at the door. "Not coming along I take it?"

Gabriel shrugged. "I might pop in later."

"Don't do anything untoward to my office." Harry said narrowing his eyes. "You will regret it if you do."

Gabriel shivered but didn't object.

* * *

"I've already told the police everything." The swollen gym teacher in front of Dean complained. He certainly looked worse for wear.

"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to ask you to tell us one more time." Sam said giving the man his puppy eyes seemingly without even realizing. The man sighed.

"I was walking home from work. My car broke down. When I got about halfway there I started hearing something behind me so I walked faster. Then she was just there." He said with a shiver.

"Who?"

"That lady from the cooking shows." The man insisted. "The one with the really bad Southern accent."

"Paula Deen?" Sam asked confused.

"That's the one." The man said moving to nod and then obviously regretting it when he jarred his injuries. "I tried to get past her but she had this rolling pin and she just kept hitting me with it. She was really strong for a lady you know? And Tom came out of his house when he heard me yelling and chased her off or something. I'm not sure. I was unconscious by then."

"Is there anything else you remember that might have happened before the accident?"

"No."

"And you didn't have any sort…issue with…Paula Deen."

The man gave him an incredulous look. "No. I'd never met the woman before."

"Right. Thank you Mr. Wilding." Sam said standing and motioning for Dean to follow him. They took a few steps away. "This is weird." He put out there immediately.

"Super weird." Dean agreed glancing over his shoulder at the battered man.

"No signs of demonic possessions. No hex bags. No sulfur. The only thing that links the victims is this." Sam pulled out two small neatly folded pieces of fabric with a strange character sewn into them.

"Maybe we can send a picture to Bobby and see what he can make of them." Dean suggested pulling out his phone and snapping a picture of the cloth. He dialed Bobby's number after he hit send.

"_What do you idjits want now?_" The irritated voice of Bobby answered seconds later.

Was it just Dean's mind playing tricks or did Bobby sound more annoyed than usual? "We're working that case you sent us on and we found something, but we don't know what it means." Dean replied. "I sent you a picture."

There was a shuffling on the other side of the line, probably Bobby wheeling his way to the computer. "_Well it's Japanese. I can tell you that much."_ Bobby said gruffly. "_Give me a bit and I'll see what I can dig up."_

The line went dead and Dean blinked at his phone before returning it to his pocket. "Bobby's going to look into it."

"Great." Sam said pocketing the cloth. "So what do we do for now?"

Dean started to shrug before spotting a familiar head bobbing amongst the doctors. Sam raised his eyes unsure why Dean was quiet then followed his gaze before freezing as well. "Is that…?"

"I think so." Dean replied.

Making his way in their direction and talking animatedly with the doctor they'd been interviewing themselves earlier was none other than Harry. He seemed immersed in whatever the doctor was telling him, and the doctor himself seemed to be spilling a lot more information than he had to the Winchesters. The doctor glanced up and caught sight of them. "Agent Bonham, Agent Copeland." He said making in their direction with a suddenly irked looking Harry trailing behind. "This is Agent Cole."

"Agents." Harry said nodding. "We've met."

"Perhaps they can fill you in on what's been happening?" The doctor said hopefully. "I really need to get back. I have surgery in twenty minutes."

"Of course doctor." Harry said with a smile handing the man a card. "Call me if anything else turns up."

The man took the card and excused himself hastily.

"Good afternoon _agents._" Harry said with a smirk.

"Why're you here?" Dean hissed out.

Harry's eyes flashed a small hint of anger. "I don't really think I owe you that explanation Winchester. And even if I did, do you really think this is the best place to discuss it _agent_?" He stressed the word again.

Sam put a calming hand on Dean's shoulder. "He's right." Sam said nodding to the side where nurses, patients and doctors all milled about them, all way too close to go around having a conversation about the supernatural.

Harry sighed turning on his heel and motioning for the Winchesters to follow. Dean and Sam shared a glance before doing so. They figured he'd stop in the parking lot, but he continued on the sidewalk until they were standing outside of a quaint little coffee shop. Dean raised an eyebrow as Harry entered, not asking their opinion. Sam shrugged, following. Harry was inside situated at the table furthest to the left and staring in their direction expectantly. Sam hesitated for half a second before walking over and taking the seat opposite Harry leaving the outermost seat open for Dean. Dean plopped into the seat seconds later leaning forward.

"So now you want to answer my question?"

Harry raised a brow. "You know I've shown quite a bit of patience with you Winchesters." He began examining his nail. "But you're really starting to get on my nerves." A harsh glare was directed Dean's way then.

A tense silence reigned between them before Harry let out a sigh.

"I'm here because of the strange occurrences in this town."

"What? Suddenly decided to start carrying the torch for humanity?"

Harry's eyes narrowed. "I don't know how I could dislike humanity with such fine examples of humility like you running around."

Sam shook his head. "No offense-"

"Oh you're terrible at offending people. Always so polite." Harry snapped.

Sam bit back an argument instead continuing his question. "But you don't seem the type to get caught in a normal hunt."

"Indeed." Harry said with a fake smile.

"So what's special about this one?"

"A stolen artifact." Harry said leaning back.

"Stolen? From who?"

"Me." Harry seethed.

"Did you forget to double lock your cereal cabinet?" Dean quipped.

Harry turned a disinterested look in his direction. It was weird to Sam how quickly he could go from being angry to completely calm and distant. "No, my wards fell. Apparently when I disappeared after saving your asses my magic didn't exactly hold. Now seven or eight powerful magical instruments are being paraded about the world like trinkets at a day fair."

"How powerful are we talking?" Dean asked growing serious.

"Varying levels, but the worst of them can turn a man to stone with a touch." Harry said with a shrug. "It's not exactly low level soothing charms applied to those objects. They were locked up for a reason."

"So what are we dealing with here?" Sam asked concern written on his face.

Harry tilted his head to the side. "Let me see the thing in your pocket."

Dean's cell phone went off as Sam reached into his pocket wide eyed. He was surprised Harry knew the cloth was there, and it was obvious he meant the cloth as he was staring at the exact pocket Sam had placed it in. "Yeah Bobby? What ya got?"

Sam hesitantly handed the cloth over to Harry who unfolded it gently and seemed amused the whole time. "Well, that's odd." Harry said placing the cloth on the table and examining the character on it. "I assume Mr. Singer has been looking into its meaning?"

Sam nodded.

"Mr. Winchester, if you'd put your phone on speaker I'd appreciate it." Harry said politely.

Dean glared from his phone. "Why would I do that?" A rumbling came from the other end of the line as Harry leveled him with a piercing stare.

"I could always make you." Harry threatened subtly.

"Harry showed up." Dean answered to Bobby who'd probably asked who he was talking to. "He wants me to put you on speaker…yeah…" Dean let out a petulant sigh but placed the phone on the table and hit the button that would make the output louder.

"Good afternoon Mr. Singer."

"_Yeah, whatever. Look I'll tell you what I was telling Dean_." Bobby said grumpily. "_The character is kanji for 'baku'. It's the symbol for a Japanese god by the same name, or-_"

"Bakugashira?" Harry interrupted.

"_Yeah…"_ Bobby confirmed. "_Legend goes it swallows nightmares, and it can only get into your room if you invite it using that symbol you boys found_."

"So all of these people are inviting it?" Sam asked bewildered. "And then, what? It brings their nightmares to life instead of getting rid of them?"

"Whoa…the means someone's nightmare was getting beat to death by Paula Deen."

"Dean? Focus." Sam reminded him.

Dean sent his brother a mildly offended glare. "Is it some kind of town custom? Didn't really get the Asian vibe from this town." Dean mused out loud. "So how do we gank it?"

"_I'm looking into lore, but so far-"_

"There's no need." Harry interrupted.

"_Meaning?"_ Bobby said irritated.

"I have a fair notion of what's probably happening in this town, and it has little to do with the god himself."

"Then what?" Sam asked curious and a little irked the Harry was, as usual, one step ahead of them.

"Well from the list of stolen items, the only thing I could think that would be able to do something like this is a compulsion charm, and it just so happens that there was a charmed talisman on the list."

"A compulsion charm?"

"Is there an echo in here?"

Dean opened his mouth looking ready to start another argument, but Harry cut him off.

"It's a high level compulsion charm. Unfortunately any measly witch that got their greedy little hands on it would be able to use it, and it's strong enough to compel a high level demon or low level god to do their bidding." Harry with a frown.

"So…what? Some witch breaks into you storage container and skips off with a high level talisman and now we have to clean up the mess?" Dean said snottily.

"I'm here to 'clean up the mess' as you've so quaintly put it. I could care less what you do." Harry said with a snort of derision. "Honestly, witches have gone downhill. Having to use a charmed object instead their own magic, it's pathetic."

"How does it work? Does the god have to do everything it's told…or does it have some free will?"

"It's under the witch's complete control until the spell ends. Then I'd have to assume it goes back to doing whatever the hell it wants."

"Where'd you get the talisman?" Sam asked curiously.

"I didn't 'get' it anywhere. It's not like they sell them at Walmart." He said pulling out his phone. "I made it."

"You made something that dangerous?" Sam asked eyes wide.

"There's a reason it was in a warded room sealed away forever." Harry reminded him flipping through his contacts.

"Couldn't you just destroy it?" Dean cut in.

"No." Harry answered simply not bothering to glance up.

"_Fun as this has been. I'm gonna hang up now_." Bobby's voice rang forth from Dean's phone reminding everyone he was still on the line.

Dean picked up the phone. "Right. We'll keep you updated." He said as they heard the click signaling Bobby disconnection.

"Konnichiwa." Harry said phone pressed to his ear. "Ah, yes. Of course."

"He speaks Japanese?" Dean muttered to Sam. Sam shrugged.

* * *

Nigh on two hours passed in which Harry talked back and forth with whoever he'd called. Sometimes it was in English, sometimes it wasn't. Just enough of it was in Japanese that neither brother could really follow what was going on. Dean had his arms crossed against his chest and his face scrunched into an annoyed frown while Sam simply leaned against the table in boredom. Finally, after what seemed forever, Harry hung up and sent them a mildly surprised look.

"You're still here." He said with a smirk. "I'd expected your attention span to snap an hour ago at the most."

"Yeah, whatever. What was the phone call about?" Dean snapped.

"A friend of mine from Japan. I was asking her a few more key details regarding the Bakugashira. I've never dealt with him personally. Apparently he's usually pretty mild mannered."

"What, no sacrificing virgins or eating the innocent to keep up on protein?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "According to Yuuko the Baku eat mostly copper, iron, and…well nightmares. Seeing as our friendly neighborhood witch isn't making him eat the nightmares..."

"He has to be getting food somewhere else." Sam said catching on.

"Someone want to fill me in on the little group connection going on here?" Dean said irritably.

"Illinois was one of the biggest iron producers of the country in civil war days." Sam supplied, always happy to spout out random tidbits of information for his brother. "There's even an iron works building here in Rolling Meadows."

"You think that's the place?" Dean asked Harry.

Harry shrugged. "It's worth a try, and it's a good starting point. It'll take a while for me to pinpoint the location of whoever has the talisman without any leads."

"Alright." Dean said standing. "Let's go then."

* * *

The ironworks turned out to be a rather large lot sub composed of gatherings of buildings. Both cars pulled into the parking lot. Harry was rather surprised by the lack of cars on a weekday. He popped open his door meeting Dean and Sam at the Impala.

Dean was shaking his head staring over Harry's shoulder at his car. "You drive a '69 Camaro?"

"Your brother's right. You do tend to focus on insignificant details." Harry said shaking his head. "I'll take over asking the owner questions. You two skirt around and see if you can find anything." Harry said pulling his badge. "If anyone stops you, you're just doing your job." He said with a smirk turning from them.

They watched him trail along into what seemed to be the main office building.

"Did he strike you as a classic muscle car type?" Dean asked once Sam turned to him.

Sam let out an exasperated sigh. "Dean." He said shaking his head and moving past his older brother.

"What?!" Dean called after unsure what he'd said.

* * *

A two and a half hour search of the facility turned up absolutely nothing on the Winchester end. They checked every building and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. So eventually they called it quits and headed back to the Impala to see Harry standing there talking to a man. When he spotted them he wrapped up his conversation with an amiable smile and a polite dismissal.

"Well I hope you got something, because we've got nada." Dean said with a huff.

Harry smiled as if he'd been expecting that. "In fact I do." He said pulling out a small notepad and flaunting a hastily scribbled address.

"What's this?" Sam asked taking the paper curiously.

"An address." Harry dead panned.

"To where smartass." Dean quipped realized Harry was just leading Sam on.

"Our lead suspects house of course." Harry said plucking the notepad back. "She's been stealing from the company for a few years now. At first just small things went missing every couple of months. Last week they caught her trying to haul off scrap metal."

"Okaaaay."

"An entire truck load of iron, copper, and steel." Harry said with a disapproving frown. He hated how he had to explain every detail to Dean for him to see the bigger picture.

"So you think this woman-"

"Amy Saito." Harry corrected.

"Japanese." Sam muttered.

"Ding, we have a winner."

"She's throwing out clues left and right. She's not exactly covering her tracks." Dean said with a contemplative frown. "It smells like a trap."

Harry shrugged. "There's only one way to be sure."

* * *

A twenty minute drive later had them outside of town and pulling up to a midsized two story house with a wrap-around porch. No car was parked in the drive way. No lights were one in the house. In fact the whole scene had a feel of desolation and general abandonment. Harry watched the area with suspicion in his eyes.

The Winchesters didn't seem to have caught Harry's hesitation as they both piled out of the Impala and moved around to the back to pick out which weapons they'd be taking while they explored. Harry sighed and shook his head, but opened his door and stepped out. His eyes scanned the quiet house. A hand tapped his shoulder and he sent an annoyed glare Sam's way.

"We're gonna head into the house." Sam motioned toward the building.

"Have fun kiddo." Harry said shutting his car door. "It's not like you need my permission. Just make sure you have your signed permission slip from a parent."

Sam frowned but moved away from Harry towards the waiting Dean.

Harry had his eyes set on the disconnected garage. It was a large stand alone building that could have fit an army of cars inside of it. Hell, it was large enough to be a second house. He quickly flicked his wrist and heard the lock click. The door swung inward revealing the dim expanse of floor in front of him. Harry frowned casting a lighting charm that floated slightly in front of him as a flashlight would, but illuminated much more of the room. Walls were thrown into contrast and the garage was shown to be surprisingly, and unnervingly, empty. Blank floor stretched to either side of him for a good twenty yards on each side.

"Well that's disappointing." He said sauntering to the right most wall and placing a hand on it. He was about ready to leave when something caught his eye. Just the smallest of glimmers on the North facing wall. Curious, he made his way over to it.

He knelt next a small ring hanging near the bottom of the large wall. It looked like a handle of some sort. With a shrug he grabbed the small thing and tugged. With the barest amount of resistance a section of the wall began to swing outwards. When he had the thing open as far as it would go he released the latch, dusting his hands. Inside was a skew of random objects; bowls, some half filled with ubiquitous liquids, daggers, swatches of cloth, a sewing machine, what Harry sincerely thought looked like an infant's skull, and many other identifiable and unidentifiable paraphernalia. Harry grimaced nudging aside one of the filled bowls with his shoe. "Place could do with a good dusting." He muttered making his way to the center of the hidden room.

He knelt next to a large, intricate circle which seemed to be drawn in blood. In the center stood two skulls, one human, one animal; a chunk of iron; and a bag of some sort.

"Harry?!" Harry could hear Sam call from outside of the room.

He sighed standing. "In here." He called.

"The house is empty, and I mean completely empty." Sam started rambling on his way back. "There wasn't even any furn-" he paused as he reached the doorway and saw the room. "Holy crap."

"Jackpot." Dean muttered from beside him.

"I'd say we found the summoning center." Harry said wrinkling his nose as he nudged aside another bowl. "But it looks abandoned."

Dean wandered around poking at things and moving others. He picked up the small skull Harry had noticed earlier. "It's like Witches-R-Us in here. There's a little bit of everything."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You realize you're holding a child's skull right?"

Dean dropped the thing like it was on fire wiping his hand on his jacket.

"So why tuck tail and run?" Sam mused. "This place looks like it's been abandoned for weeks. We only got into town a few days ago so it couldn't be that she caught wind of us."

"Perhaps we're not the only ones on her trail." Harry said examining a picture stapled to the back wall.

"Who else would be?"

Harry shrugged.

A terrible screeching reached their ears then. It was the sound of metal on metal and shattering glass. Sam and Dean shared a look before bolting. Harry pulled down the picture he'd found and followed at more sedate, if quickened pace. What greeted them outside wasn't pretty. Sam was staring slack jawed at half of a car. More specifically he was staring at half of Harry's car. The other half was gone as if something hadn't taken a giant bite out of it.

Harry hissed in a breath when he spotted the damage. "I liked that car." He said through gritted teeth.

"Dude, something just ate half your car and that's all you have to say?" Dean asked incredulously. He knew he'd be throwing a bitch fit if the same had happened to the Impala.

"Trust me." Harry said eyes flashing as he glanced over. "I'm livid."

"So now what?" Sam asked breaking the silence as Harry made his way over to sift through the ruined car for anything personal. "Where do we go?"

"What did all the victims have in common?" Harry asked rifling through the glove compartment.

"As far as I could tell, nothing." Sam replied.

"Wrong." Harry said standing and placing a small book in his jacket. "They're all connected to a single person."

"Who?" Sam asked brows scrunching together.

"Sarah Saito."

"A sister?"

"A daughter." Harry said holding up the photo he'd taken from the back room.

"The records I was searching didn't turn anything up about a dependant." Sam was visibly annoyed that he'd missed something.

"That's because she's been dead for nigh on five years now. Recent records wouldn't tell you anything. Brownie points for trying though."

"You knew this the whole time?" Dean said angrily snapping the picture away.

"Most of it." Harry said with a shrug.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Never reveal your hand until the betting's done Mr. Winchester." Harry said with a smirk.

"So why are you telling us now?" Sam asked his voice laced with suspicion.

"Well if my assumptions are correct, and they usually are, you're invested in the situation. Consider it mutual benefit that you're now brought up to speed. Well, that and I need a ride now. There seem to be anti apparition wards laced all over this god forsaken town."

"Great." Dean said heading over to his car. "A joy filled car ride with the queen. Where to your majesty?"

"Well now that I have something personal of Amy's…" Harry said plucking the picture form Dean's hand. "I can do a tracking spell."

* * *

About an hour of driving around following Harry's directions, which sometimes included rather sharp and sudden turns, they found themselves on a forest preserve. They all piled out of the car and Harry led the two brothers through the wooded area with ease, especially for someone who was keeping their eyes shut the whole time.

Sam nearly bumped into Harry as he stopped abruptly eyes snapping open.

"What is it?"

"She's about thirty yards ahead of us in a small cabin." Harry said with a frown.

"Okay." Dean said standing level with him. "So why did you stop?"

"Remember the anti apparition wards? Yeah, apparently she knew I was coming and elicited a bit of help keeping me away." Harry said shrugging. "Looks like you boys are on your own for now."

"Fantastic." Dean said sarcastically motioning for Sam to follow.

"Sam." Harry said drawing the attention of the two again and tossing Sam a bag. "If you find the talisman put it in there. Do try not to touch it, yeah? I'll try to find a way in."

As they trudged on out of sight Harry began to circle to the right just the slightest bit. He could feel a presence in the trees watching him, and he was pretty sure he knew who it was. Moving away from where he and the Winchesters had parted ways was mostly so that they didn't stumble in on what he assumed was about to be an interesting chat, and considering the person hadn't simply approached him while he'd been with the boys meant they weren't keen on revealing themselves to the hunters. Hence Harry's little lie about a ward blocking him from entry.

"You can come out now." He said with a smirk. "I know you're there."

"Well, imagine that."

Harry tried not to roll his eyes at the demon standing before him. "Crowley. I thought I smelled two bit has been. What do you want?"

Crowley put a hand over his chest as if moderately offended. "Hardly a has been." Crowley said with a frown. "I'm making plans to move up in the world after all."

"Funny thing that." Harry scoffed. "You've been 'making plans' since we met. It's hardly a reassuring statement at this point. Why are you here?"

"I want to make a deal." A hard glint entering his eyes. Harry knew it was his serious face.

"Sorry, love." Harry said caustically. "My soul doesn't hold much value to your kind."

"Not for your soul."Crowley said rolling his eyes, apparently he lacked the restraint Harry did on the matter. Honestly the two could stand around scoffing at each other all day and find themselves more than entertained it was one of the bonuses of being old and sarcastic. "For the gun."

Harry blinked. "The colt?" he raised an eyebrow. "Looking to save yourself from a messy encounter with fate?"

"I'm looking to save myself from a lot of things." Crowley replied nonchalantly.

"What's your bargaining chip?" Harry asked crossing his arms. He didn't like the situation. Crowley knew Harry didn't want anything he had so really he was just risking pissing Harry off at this point, and Harry wasn't someone you wanted to piss off if you had your best interests in mind. Crowley always had his best interests in mind.

"How about four of the items that were stolen from you?" Crowley asked lowly.

The air seemed to grow immediately more tense. "Have you been taking things that don't belong to you again?"

"Of course not." Crowley said "I simply…reacquired your missing goods."

"I'm sure." Harry said through narrowed eyes. He didn't buy Crowley's claim to innocence for a moment.

"So…deal?"

"Well I suppose that depends." Harry said crossing his arms. "Where are the items? Here?"

"What do you think I am?" Crowley said, an indignant scowl on his face. "Of course not. They're nice and secure at the moment. Although, they do have shipment orders if you say no."

Harry suppressed the urge to growl at the man.

"So, deal?" Crowley said again a self satisfied smirk gracing his lips.

"Remove the anti apparition wards and it's a deal."

"Oh." Crowley clicked his tongue. "No can do. You see, I'm not the one doing this." He gestured at the sky.

"The witch?" Harry said with some shock filtering through. He hadn't met a witch capable of holding a ward this strong in a long time.

"Witch?" Crowley said with amusement. "Sure, whatever you want to call the pagan gods these days." He shrugged.

Harry suppressed a groan. The Winchesters were misinformed and outgunned, and he'd sent them in alone. Fantastic. "Deal." He said turning his back to Crowley. "I assume you know where my office is? Next time you want to have a heart to heart meet me there instead of some secluded forest in the middle of nowhere, Illinois."

Harry heard an amused half laugh as he made his way toward the cabin where he knew the Winchesters were probably having their asses handed to them.

* * *

Harry had, as usual, guessed right. Both Winchesters were beat to hell and pinned to the walls of the large cabin while the woman on the floor paced back and forth monologing about how she was in the right and they simply didn't understand her quest. Harry couldn't suppress the eye roll that brought on.

Harry stepped out from his corner. "Good afternoon." He said taking in the full layout of the room now that he could see it. "I do believe you have something of mine."

The woman froze for half a second as she took in his voice before she emphatically threw her hand in one direction assuming Harry would follow. To her surprise the man stayed firmly in place with a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

"You're going to have to catch me on a bad day for that to work." Harry said. "Now then, we were discussing my property?"

"I need it!" she hissed, worry and anger flitting through her eyes.

"Oh, well, by all means then." Harry said waving a hand dismissively.

She looked startled. "Really?"

"No." Harry said disdainfully.

"Please." She pleaded. "My daughter. They killed my daughter."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "The gym teacher killed your daughter?"

"He didn't stop them!" she yelled, enraged by his flippancy.

Harry shook his head. "Give me back the talisman and I won't kill you." He said icily.

Harry could feel Dean's eyes turn to him incredulously. Harry saw Amy's hand inch toward her pocket almost as if she wanted to check if the small stone was still there. It was obvious she didn't want to return it from the scowl on her face.

Harry shrugged snapping his fingers. Amy collapsed unmoving to the ground. Sam and Dean landed on their feet each taking deep breaths as if they hadn't been able to breathe properly for a while.

"Is she dead?" Sam asked stepping closer.

"No." Harry answered kneeling and going through the woman's pocket until he found a small stone. "I incapacitated her."

"Well let's finish this then." Dean said retrieving his gun and pointing it at the woman's head.

Harry stood taking the small stone with him. "You can't."

"Why shouldn't I?" Dean said angrily. "She nearly killed Sam and me."

"No, I mean you literally can't. It's beyond you at the moment. You don't have the proper tools. She not a witch."

"But you said she was a witch."

Harry shrugged. "I thought she was. Someone wanted me to be believe she was and I'd hate to disappoint."

"If she's not a witch what is she?"

"Hand me the bag." Harry said holding his hand out to Sam who immediately placed the small bag Harry had given him earlier there. "From what I can tell she's the goddess Kuan Yin."

Sam blinked. "I thought she was supposed to be all about mercy and forgiveness."

Dean scowled in his brother's direction. "Nerd."

"There's a reason I don't let these artifacts drift about you know." Harry said flourishing the bag before pocketing it. "This talisman alters personality over time. It can turn even the kindest of individuals in revenge obsessed lunatics."

Dean's cell phone chimed letting them know he had an incoming message. He flipped open the phone and read the message twice.

"So what do we do with her?" Sam asked motioning to the passed out woman.

"Normally I'd apparate her to my office and we'd have a nice long chat." Harry said with a frown. "But the apparition wards are still up so…"

He knelt beside her and placed two fingers on her forehead. There was a slight rosy glow and then he pulled back.

"That will have to suffice." Harry said standing back up.

"What did you do?"

"A memory charm. Without the negative attachment to this place she'll probably wander away and leave the people in peace."

"Was that…did she really have a daughter?"

Harry shrugged. "Probably. There's no telling if her daughter actually died here or not though, and it's not like an entire town killed her. So we can't just let her kill them off…well I suppose we could technically but I'm sure your morals would stand in the way of that."

"So now what?" Sam said crossing his arms.

"Now we have to go." Dean supplied starting to move past Sam and Harry.

"Dean? Where's the fire?" Sam asked walking after his brother.

Dean just tossed his phone to Sam.

"You know, a tinge of compassion would be appreciated." Harry said hotly. "My car was eaten and I can't exactly apparate. A ride out of town wouldn't be amiss."

The look on Dean's face said he really would rather argue the fact, but Sam had just gotten done reading the text Dean had tossed his way and he barreled between the two of them. Dean let out a sigh. "Let's go." he said sounding defeated.

* * *

**My first personalized case. More than a few holes I know. I kept changing what I wanted to do in my mind and then the story would take a 180 to accommodate. Still, I don't think it turned out terribly for the amount of research I put in. Tell me what you guys think. ^^**

**Well, I haven't slept in nearly 36 hours so I think I'll end the author's note here. 'Til next time!**

**~Kanathia **


	10. Ch 9: Frangere Norma

**Someone made a mention in the reviews on chapter 2 or 3 about how they couldn't wait for Harry to meet Chuck… Wish granted. I've had this chapter planned for a while actually. It's one of my favorite episodes in the series.**

**For reference purposes I'd like to mention that canon says the Carver Edlund 'Supernatural' books cut off with Dean going to hell. If you'll recall from chapter 1 the Winchesters meet Harry just before then.**

**Episodes: 4.18 The Monster at the End of This Book, 5.9 The Real Ghostbusters, **

* * *

The Winchesters had driven him some twenty miles out of town before Harry felt the block on his magic loosen. He wished them a farewell before simply popping out of their backseat like he'd never been there. He was sure Dean had hit the brakes and swerved a bit which amused him to no end. You'd think he'd be used to people disappearing what with how often it was happening around him nowadays.

Harry arrived in his office to see a bottle of champagne on his desk with a note attached. He grabbed the paper and flipped it open. '_To the joining of two businesses.'_ Was written in loopy handwriting. Harry tossed the card to the side and took the bucket of champagne and water to the sink. The fact that the ice had melted completely sort of brought up the question of how long the bucket had been sitting there.

The shrill ringing of his cell phone brought him out of his reverie. Placing aside the bucket he reached for the device and flipped it open. "Hello?" he said grabbing the champagne bottle and raising an eye at the label. Well, at least it wasn't the cheap stuff.

"H-hello." A woman's voice said on the other.

Harry blinked. He didn't recognize that voice. "How did you get this number?" He asked setting the bottle in his wet cabinet and closing the door.

"I…er…um…that's not important." The woman said seemingly gaining a tinge of confidence.

Harry let out a sigh. "Well I don't have all day. Do try to get to the point."

He could have sworn he heard a sharp intake of breath followed by a shrill sound. He pulled the phone away from his ear just the slightest bit to glance at the number. No, he definitely didn't know that number.

"Uh, well. You see…it's important that you come to-"

Harry inhaled deeply as she rambled off an address. "Why, pray tell, would I go to an unknown location given to me by an unknown woman, for unknown reasons?" he said eyebrow twitching just slightly in annoyance.

"It's impor-"

And the call dropped just then as any proper call would, to raise tension he supposed. He hit the redial button but it went straight to voicemail and even that was completely automated giving him no clues as to the phone's owner.

He flipped his phone closed and sighed. He made his way to his desk with a glass and a scotch bottle. He set the glass down roughly filling it to the tip with the precious amber liquid and then downing it. He rarely downed liquor. It was a waste after all to gulp a good scotch. He refilled the glass to a more reasonable level before capping the bottle and walking it back over to the cabinet to shelve it.

"I think some sleep is in order before I go gallivanting around the globe." He muttered to himself, apparating home.

* * *

"Come on!" Sam shouted back at Dean as his brother stopped to survey the crowded parking lot in confusion.

Shaking his head Dean snapped out of it and followed choosing to ignore the identical Impala's parked in droves.

"Chuck! There you are!" Sam said spotting a pale pacing man near the stairs.

"Guys?" Chuck replied in confusion.

"What's going on?" Dean said catching up finally.

"Nothing much…just kinda hanging around. What…uh what are you guys doing here?"

San's eyebrows rose. "You told us to come."

"Ah," Chuck laughed a tinge of his nervous energy resurfacing. "No I didn't."

"Yeah…you did." Sam said tenseness leaving his shoulders. "You texted Dean this address, life or death situation. Any of this ringing a bell?"

"I didn't text you." Chuck insisted.

"We drove all night." Dean said frustrated now that he knew the man wasn't in trouble.

"I'm sorry I don't know what…oh no."

"What?"

"Sam! You made it!"

Both brothers blinked up to the unwelcome sight of a grinning woman descending upon them gleefully.

"Oh…uh…Becky? Right?"

"Oh, you remembered." She said stopping just in front of him her voice grew husky. "You've been thinking of me."

Dean wasn't sure if he should laugh of suppress a shiver at the look on her face.

"I…"

"It's okay." She said stepping forward. "I haven't been able to get you out of my head either."

Sam cringed slightly.

"Becky, did you take my phone?" Chuck cut in, to Sam's relief.

"I just borrowed it from your pants." She said with a casual shrug holding the phone out.

Chuck took the phone. "Did you call anyone else?"

"N…no." she said the lie clearly showing on her face.

Chuck flipped open the phone flicking through the recent activity log. Sam noticed him pale dramatically as he seemed to register the number he was reading.

"Is something wrong?"

Chuck's eyes flicked to Becky and then back to the phone. "You didn't call…him did you? Where did you even find the number?"

"It was on a note in your car with the letter H.P. next to it." She reasoned. "I thought, 'it couldn't be'-"

"So you called him?" Chuck said eyes wide.

"Called who?" Dean tried to intercede.

"I just thought they'd want to see." Becky said enthusiastically.

"See what?" Dean and Sam ground out at the same time, Dean more frustrated for being ignored.

"Oh my god! I love it when they talk at the same time!"

"Hey Chuck!" A guy called appearing near the top of the stairs. "Come on pal it's show time."

Chuck hesitated as the man walked away expecting Chuck to follow. Becky rushed after the man chattering excitedly. With a shake of his head Chuck turned in the Winchesters' direction. "Guys…I'm sorry. For all of this."

Dean and Sam trailed after Chuck as he made his way into the building. They paused by the door allowing a man to pass in front of them. The man turned in their direction eying Dean. "Hey Dean, looking good!" he said as he passed with a mixed drink in hand.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean said in confusion.

"I'm Dean too…duh." The man, now dubbed Dean as well, replied. Sure enough the man was wearing clothes remarkably similar to the real Dean's down to the amulet Sam had given Dean several years back for Christmas.

"What is this?"

"It's awesome!" Becky supplied. "It's the first Supernatural fan convention!"

Dean and Sam continued to stare around the room in awe and annoyance. This was their lives paraded about like some sort of game.

Dean nudged Sam. "Check it out." Sam followed Dean's gaze to a man of average height and thin build in what looked like an Armani suit. Black hair…

"Becky…who did Chuck think you called?"

Becky blanked for a minute. "Oh…uh…" she started slow. "Well if you two were real, well you are real and I just-thought-that-if-you-guys-were-real-then-maybe-everyone-else-"

"Becky!" Sam stopped her. Her rambling had become incoherent in its quickness. "Slower."

"Or better yet, why don't you just give us a name." Dean supplied hoping it would simplify the eccentric woman's spiel.

"Well, uh…in the books you guys only met him once."

"Who?"

"Harry." She said looking like she wanted to crawl into a hole.

"Harry." Dean repeated wanting to smack his face. They'd barely gotten rid of the guy and now he was popping up again?

"I know he couldn't help you…" she trailed off at the looks on their faces. "What?"

"Nothing." Sam said hand over his face. Dean had been watching the Harry look alike and was sure it wasn't him when the man accepted a soda from a woman who was dressed as…Bobby…weird. Harry didn't seem the 'soda' type.

"This way." Becky said leading them towards the back where people were gathered at the entrance to the ballroom. The doors swung inward and the twenty or so people there made their way in. It seemed to be a signal of sorts because suddenly the whole hotel was in that room minus the workers.

Sam and Dean shared a look before following.

* * *

Harry found himself outside of a nice hotel. That much he was pleasantly surprised at. What had him more shocked, however, were the numerous black impalas littering the parking lot in neat lines. It was frightening in a way. "Sweet Merlin, I've just stepped into the twilight zone." He muttered glancing around for any sign of life. None spotted, he made his way for the front entrance.

The lobby would have been nice if it weren't littered with semi abandoned booths and half empty solo cups. He blinked back his disdain for a shirt that read 'honk if you've got hellhounds'.

"The hotel's rented out to convention guests sir." A man said approaching apologetically as he spotted Harry's reproachful glances. "Can I help you?"

"A convention?" he said raising an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Some book series." The man said dismissively.

"And the…attendees…" Harry chose the nicest word he could think of. "Where are they?"

"The ballroom. There's some sort of introductory thing about to start."

"Where's the ballroom?"

"Uh…right this way." The man said obviously confused. "No offense sir, but you don't seem the type."

Harry shot him a look. "None taken." He said with a smirk as they reached the doors the man had been leading him to. One still stood ajar, invitingly. "I'm not."

Harry left the man at the doors making his way inside. He immediately spotted the hulking form of Sam Winchester to the right standing behind the rows of chairs in the center of the room. Harry made his way to the left watching a fat man ascend to the stage a clipboard in hand. He tapped the mic and after the resounding mechanical feedback nodded. "Welcome to the first annual Supernatural convention." Harry raised an eyebrow. "At 3:45 in the Magnolia room we have the panel, 'Frightened little boy, the secret life of Dean'."

The second eyebrow joined the first near his hairline.

"And at 4:30 there's the 'Homoerotic subtext of Supernatural.'" Harry nearly choked on air. What sort of weird convention had he walked into? Surely by Dean they didn't Dean Winchester? And what the bloody hell was 'Supernatural'?

"Oh and of course the big hunt starts at 7pm sharp." Cheers went up from the people sitting in the small chaired section. "But right now, right now I'd like to introduce the man himself; the creator, the writer of the supernatural books. The one, the only, Carver Edlund!"

Massive amounts of cheering and applause broke out among the supposed fans as a thin, nervous looking man took the stage nodding to the fat man. "Ok…okay good…this isn't nearly as awkward as I…" he seemed to choke up. "Dry mouth." He explained grabbing a water bottle and all but chugging its contents. When he finished he recapped the bottle and turned timidly back to those watching him. Harry was thoroughly unimpressed. "Okay…so…um…questions?"

Tens of hands shot up all in an attempt to be noticed first.

"Uh…you."

A tall tin man stood wearing what looked surprisingly like Sam's jacket. "Hey Mr. Edlund…uh…big fan." He said sounding excited and nervous. "I was just wondering, where did you come up with Sam and Dean in the first place?"

Harry blinked rapidly unsure if he'd heard that right. He shot a glance to the brothers who were watching the man on stage expectantly. The man, Carver as he'd been called by the man who introduced him, didn't seem oblivious to those looks. He kept glancing their way almost apologetically.

"Oh…ah, I, it just came to me." He sounded as if he doubted his own answer.

Hands shot up again now that he'd answered.

"Oh, yeah. The hook man."

"Yeah." Harry glanced skeptically at the standing man when a thick German accent issued forth. "Why in every fight scene, Sam and Dean are having their gun knocked away by the bad guy? Why don't they keep it on some kind of bungee?"

Harry snorted in amusement drawing the attention of some sitting closer to him. One girl mouthed something and gave him a thumbs up. He glanced at her warily as she turned back to the stage.

"I…yeah…I really don't know." The guy answered looking desperate.

"Ja. Follow up." The German man pushed on seemingly oblivious to the other man's discomfort. "Why can't Sam and Dean be telling that Ruby is evil? I mean she is clearly manipulating Sam into some kind of moral lapse. It's obvious, _nien_?"

Harry rolled his eyes. Of course it was easy to see that from a spectator's standpoint. Sam was perpetually lost in a 'can't see the forest for the trees' daze, but then again how was this man a spectator? Surely Sam and Dean didn't run about giving away details of their life.

"Hey! If you don't like the books don't read them Fritz!" a woman yelled angrily stomping forward. Harry tilted his head to the side eying her. He'd found his mystery caller, and she definitely wasn't what he'd been expecting. Then again this whole scene seemed a bit disjointed.

"Ok, Ok, just..okay. It's okay. So, next question. Yeah, you." The man on the stage said placating.

"Yeah, at the end of the last book, Dean goes to hell. So, what happens next?"

Harry's eyes couldn't have been wider. If he'd been holding something he'd likely have dropped it so it was a good thing he'd foregone bringing his usual glass of scotch.

"Oh. Well there lies an announcement, actually. You're all going to find out." There was a moment of pause as though the man was choosing the best words. "Thanks to a wealthy Scandinavian investor, we're going to start publishing again."

The room erupted into mass hysteria which Harry found himself thankfully just far enough away from not to be engulfed in.

"I need a drink." He said hand moving to rub his temples as he exited the ballroom. He made a beeline for the bar he'd spotted earlier off to the side of the rather sizable lobby. He'd barely reached its edge before he could hear people filtering from the room he'd just been in. He gave a sigh signaling to the bartender and telling him to bring out a double scotch. As the man measured his drink Harry turned to watch the people pouring from the room all subdividing into their own little groups. He spotted Sam and Dean go off to the side arguing about something as usual.

The man who'd been on stage, Carver Edlund if he'd heard correctly, was heading in Harry's direction seemingly oblivious to all but the bartender who'd already slid Harry's drink over and had started wiping down the counter on the opposite end of the bar. Harry's eyes followed him for a moment before snapping to the woman taking a seat not far away. She was the reason he was here after all. She was alone for a few seconds and Harry made to walk over, but Carver Edlund cut him off just as he stood nearly spilling the two unseemly colorful drinks he was carrying. Carver muttered an apology not really looking in his direction and Harry was just thankful he hadn't been covered in the bright yellow mess. He tapped the bar letting the bartender know he'd like a refill and then pulled out a twenty and plopped it on the counter turning away from the man.

He was more than a little surprised when he saw the Winchesters approach the two. Not because it seemed that Dean and Sam knew the man, but because of the unadulterated lust in every glance the woman was throwing Sam. It was almost disturbing in its intensity. Grabbing his drink he swaggered over just as the nervous man was departing with the Winchesters. He watched them round the corner as he plopped into the chair right beside the woman they'd left behind.

She shot him a scornful look. "What do you want?"

He blinked a bit taken aback. "I travel a thousand miles and that's the reception I get?" he said with mock hurt. "I was told not to trust blind dates, but that's definitely the last time I traverse half the country for a voice on the other end of the phone."

Confusion, then understanding filtered across her face. Then an insane amount of excitement. "You're Harry!" she exclaimed only just remembering that shouting indoors wasn't the best idea.

"That is the usual moniker, yes."

She looked beyond words for a minute like she'd just met an idol.

Harry shot her a bemused look. "And you are?"

"Oh…right." She extended a hand. "Becky. Becky Rosen."

Harry stared at the proffered hand. "A pleasure, I'm sure."

She didn't seem offended at all. In fact his abrupt dismissal only seemed to further enthuse her, much to his dismay.

"Why exactly was it so important that I meet you here?" he asked glancing around with unhidden disdain.

"So you could see the convention of course!" she said with a grin. "It's awesome isn't it?"

Harry gave her a skeptical look. "Who gave you my number?" he said with a sigh thinking about how he'd torture the poor soul that decided it was a good idea to hand his number to the likes of Becky Rosen.

"Well…no one really…" she said evasively. "I sort of…"

"What?"

"Found it in Chuck's car…"

"I don't know a 'Chuck'."

"You know 'Carver Edlund'." She said using air quotes.

"Right." Harry said as if he'd known the whole time and simply pulled a blank when the name was mentioned. "I think I'll go have a chat with 'Chuck'." He stood just as a scream sounded.

"Come on." Becky said standing too and tugging on his arm for all of two seconds before he'd neatly removed it from her grasp. "You'll want to see this."

Feeling oddly like he'd been left out of some key detail Harry followed hoping that since she was heading in the same direction he'd seen the Winchesters leave in he'd bump into this 'Chuck'.

She harried him up some stairs and around the back of a large group of people all clustered around an emphatically talking maid. "Oooh the LARPing's started!" Becky announced with far too much joy for Harry's taste.

"Pardon?"

"The…what is tha…." Dean had turned with Sam when they'd heard Becky's voice behind them. They hadn't expected to come face to face with a disgruntled Harry.

Becky glanced between Harry and Sam looking like a woman who'd found paradise. Harry swore he heard her mutter something about sexual tension and that was all he needed to get serious bad chills down his spine.

"Live action role playing." Becky answered Harry's question and Dean's half a question. "It's a game. The convention puts it on."

Harry shook his head in disappointment. LARPing had at first sounded much like a particularly bad STD.

"So…why exactly are you here?" Sam asked curiously.

"Suffice it to say I got a mysterious phone call from a voracious lady claiming my presence was imperative."

"Was that even English?" Dean said looking completely lost. Sam shook his head.

"Proper English." Harry said with a smile. "Not that I'd expect you to know. I've already accepted that your vocabulary doesn't extend much beyond 'where's the shotgun'."

Dean looked caught between indignation and fear of saying something stupid. Sam and Becky just seemed amused by the whole exchange, Becky more so than Sam. Harry was already starting to theorize that perhaps the woman had it out for Dean, and had a thing for the younger brother. It certainly wasn't difficult to see the latter.

"So I've explained why I'm here. Why are you two here?"

Sam's eyes flicked to Becky.

"Ah…much the same then?" Harry turned to Becky. "You seem to get a lot of prank calls out of the way don't you? Oh yes, Dean, Sam, I meant to ask, why is there a building full of people dressed like you?"

"Apparently they're LARPing." Sam supplied as if that cleared anything up for anyone.

"Right…and therein lies another question." He said putting up a finger to silence Becky who looked ready to defend the convention to her last breath. "Why do these people seem to be under the assumption that you two are characters in a book?"

"Not just them!" Becky said seemingly unable to stop herself.

"Meaning?" Harry questioned with a half hearted snideness.

She looked at him imploringly.

Harry's expression was unreadable. "You mean…I'm-?"

She nodded emphatically.

"Pardon me. I need to find a certain author." Harry said turning abruptly and startling the other three a tad.

Dean and Sam shared a look before moving after him leaving Becky looking confused standing in the upstairs hallway. Harry had already made it to the bottom of stairs when they reached the top and he was looking left and right obviously trying to locate Chuck. He veered off to the right and by the time the brothers hit the main floor he was nowhere to be seen, which didn't bode well.

* * *

Harry rounded a corner and spotted his target making conversation with a skinny man with a clipboard. They seemed to be talking about coordinating some event because there were a lot of times thrown in. honestly Chuck seemed more like he was just agreeing with the guy more than anything. He was obviously out of his depth.

"Pardon." Harry said interrupting the two. "Might I borrow Mr. Edlund for a moment." Harry said with a polite smile. Clipboard man seemed annoyed, Chuck had simply frozen upon hearing his voice. He hadn't turned to face Harry much to the British man's amusement and chagrin.

"Look, he's busy right now. If you want an autograph you have to pay for it and wait in line like everyone else."

Harry blinked twice before his eyes narrowed into a vicious glare. Before he could retaliate Chuck was stepping up. "Uh, it's okay…I…I'll talk to him." Chuck said before hesitantly turning in Harry's direction. The look on his face said he'd clearly wished for anyone but Harry to be standing there when he turned.

"Good afternoon Chuck." Harry said clicking the 'k'.

"Oooh god…" Chuck said nervously.

"Perhaps we should move somewhere a tinge more private for this meeting?"

Chuck didn't object as Harry led him away although he looked like he'd rather throw himself into a swimming pool full of razors. Harry opened a random side door glanced in to see if it was empty and then motioned for Chuck to precede him. With a flick of his wrist the door locked behind them. The room was mostly empty save a few scattered chairs and tables. Harry gracefully sat himself in one of the chairs even though his whole body was screaming at him to lash out at the man in front of him.

"I assume you know who I am." Harry said smugly.

Chuck nodded wide eyed.

"I suppose that saves me introductions. However, it raises a few questions seeing as, before today, I'd never heard of you." Harry leaned back in his chair surveying the man in front of him. "So?"

Chuck fidgeted, but said nothing.

Harry tilted his head slightly. "The Winchesters seem to know what's going on. Perhaps they can inform me?"

Chuck let out a sort of self loathing sigh. "Okay, so…I didn't know this myself until recently…" Chuck started and Harry raised an eyebrow. "I've been writing books about Sam and Dean for years. A couple of months ago they showed up on my doorstep."

"Meaning of course that they hadn't okayed your writing about them."

Chuck nodded. "I would get these headaches and then I would see things." He explained hope rising in his chest at the fact that Harry hadn't tried to kill him yet. "And then I just started writing about them. Something told me it was what I should do."

"Something told you?" Harry asked skeptically. "Like a little voice in your head, or like an urge?"

"Like an urge…I guess…and so I started writing and I published the books for a while."

Harry seemed less angry than interested now. "So you're psychic and the Winchesters just happen to be what your powers are focusing on?"

"Well…no…when Sam and Dean showed up I found out that…I'm…"

"You're what?" Harry said annoyance rising again when Chuck didn't finish his thought. "Besides inarticulate I mean."

"A prophet…" Chuck sounded completely unconvinced of the theory himself.

"Brilliant." Harry said sarcastically. "However, I suppose the focus here isn't really on how you're writing, but what you have written. Your friend, Ms. Rosen, she let slip that I've been in at least one of your books."

Chuck's fidgeting rose a notch as Harry leaned forward.

"How much have you written about me Mr. Edlund?" Harry emphasized the last name letting Chuck know that he knew it was a pen name and nothing more.

"N-not much." Chuck got out. "You were only in the last published novel from what I remember." Chuck said fumbling with a paper he pulled from his back pocket. A list of the book titles was on the page. He'd kept it as a sort of reminder in case anyone had asked him about a specific book while he'd been talking earlier on stage.

Harry frowned his eyes darkening. "And how much do you know?"

The man's terrified demeanor was answer enough really. He knew far too much, and yet somehow his reactions seemed too measured for someone who was really as afraid as Chuck should be. It was a conundrum to say the least. Harry shook his head withdrawing.

"I'm sure you know I run a business…several actually." Harry said with a frown as Chuck nodded. "Then I'm sure you know that I also do a lot of things that aren't exactly…legal. Now in order to run such a business every bumbling civilian on the street can't know about what I do. You follow?"

Chuck nodded hesitantly.

"Good." Harry leaned back and Chuck seemed to finally take a breath. "I think I've taken an interest in your work Chuck. I'll be watching it very closely from now on."

Harry stood straightening his suit. He glanced back at Chuck who was staring at the table in front of him. He felt a pang of pity for the man that he quickly squashed. "Do try not to mention me by name again." He snapped his fingers and Chuck suddenly looked immensely uncomfortable. He flicked his wrist opening the door and leaving Chuck with his thoughts in the room.

Harry made his way back to the bar intent on finding himself another drink. It wasn't every day that you found out your secret life was being written about by a prophet. Harry rolled his eyes, a prophet. The world could be so unoriginal sometimes. To him, a prophet was simply a psychic with a specialty. And Chuck seemed to have a fixation on the Winchesters. The Winchesters in turn seemed to have far too much contact with him lately for him not to be mentioned in those books at least a few times over.

He shoulder barely bumped into Sam as he rounded the corner leading to the lounge.

"Harry!" Sam said sounding surprised. "We were looking for you. Where's Chuck?"

Harry watched Sam's eyes dart about for a minute with a smirk. "Putting himself back together I'd imagine." He said nonchalantly moving pass the massive bicep that was far too close to his face for comfort. "The man has a knack for knowing things he shouldn't."

"You didn't…do anything to him…did you?" Sam asked hesitantly.

Harry scowled over his shoulder. "Nothing serious. This suit is far too valuable to get bloodstains on."

He tapped the bar to Dean's right drawing the bartender's attention and ordering a drink. Dean himself seemed a bit too into his alcohol a morbidly depressed look etched on his face. "What's wrong with you? You look like you just found out someone nuked your hamster."

Dean downed the last of the amber liquid in his glass holding it out to the man filling Harry's glass. "This whole place gives me the creeps." He said with a grimace. "Watching people walk around acting like they're us…and no offense but there are way too many of 'you' here."

Harry glanced to the sides. "Oh please, not a single one of them is wearing a nice suit. They're all rentals from a department store. Besides, there are about ten fake Dean's to every fake Harry, and some of your clones seem to have actually gotten close to replicating your unique blend of Salvation Army cast offs and drunken incompetency."

Dean didn't have time to be offended as a bustling argument had started near the entrance.

"For the last time! I'm not making this up okay! She's upstairs! A real live, dead ghost." A kid that couldn't be past his early twenties seemed to be shouting at a friend. Harry had to admit he looked like he'd lost a fight with an angry bull.

"I think that's your cue Mr. Ghost hunter." Harry said with a grin.

Dean grumbled as he walked over with Sam at his heels. "You saw something?" Sam asked as they approached.

"This isn't part of the game jerk." The kid bit back snottily. Harry snorted. Dressed as they were Sam and Dean did seem to be part of the LARPing crowd. "Look, I'm getting out of here, and you should do the same." The kid told his friend making for the front door.

Harry watched him leave with mild interest as the brothers walked back his way talking.

"You think it's really a ghost?" Sam said quietly.

"The kid didn't look fake beat up." Dean replied thinking. "And I don't think the kid's a good enough actor to be acting anyway."

Sam nodded in agreement. He spotted Harry. "What do you think?"

Harry shrugged. "He's right."

Sam blinked taken aback by the straightforward answer. "Dean or the kid?"

"Both." Harry answered again straightforwardly.

"What makes you so sure?"

Harry glanced upward at the ceiling. "Nothing particular." He said with a shrug. "I think I'm going to go check out the panel on the secret life of Dean. Sounds promising. Have fun kiddos."

* * *

The panel was anything but promising. If Harry wasn't afraid falling asleep in such a place might lead to some sort of fangirl photo op he might have passed out where he sat. Which just happened to be in the smack dab middle of one of the long rows thanks to his terrible luck. He was boxed in on every side by people completely convinced that Dean Winchester was some sort of sensitive compassionate kid who just needed the opportunity to show his love. Harry tried not to scoff at the idea. He was of the persuasion that Dean Winchester was a borderline incest ridden sociopath with a long history of violence and far too many authority trust issues.

The panel could not have ended too soon if it had simply been the words 'start' and 'the end'. Harry stood, stretching as people filed out for the short break that was being offered between panels. He was nigh assaulted as he exited the ballroom doors.

"Would you like to vote in our sexiest character poll?" An excitable woman wearing thick glasses asked bouncing up next to him.

Harry gave her a wide eyed side glance. "Excuse me, what?"

"The sexiest character poll." She said obviously happy he'd even given her a response. "We took some of the characters and we're having people vote based on the physical descriptions given in the books. Great Harry costume by the way. It's great. You've even got the accent down."

Harry let out a half hearted sigh as she carted him to the table. A list of names lay before him. He read it twice then blinked. "I'm not on here?" he said skimming again.

"Oh yeah, Harry didn't make it." The girl said sounding genuinely disappointed. "The guys who made the poll said that he wasn't in the books enough to qualify. They said he wouldn't have a large enough fan base."

Harry wasn't sure whether to be offended or relieved. He blinked down at the list again. "I don't have enough of a following but Bobby Singer does?" Harry said appalled by the mere thought that Bobby could be considered more attractive than him in any way. Then he caught himself and couldn't help but wonder why he cared.

The girl shrugged. "He has a rugged appeal I guess. Dean will probably win."

Harry rolled his eyes. Like that imbecile needed another ego boost. A smirk wormed its way onto his face. With a snap of his fingers the entered ballots changed just slightly. Every vote for Dean was now a vote for Harry. "Cheers." He said circling Dean's name and watching the text change as he slid it into the ballot box. The girl waved to him as he departed with a smug smile on his face.

"What are you smiling about?"

'_Speak of the devil_.' Harry thought turning in Dean's direction. "What ever are you talking about? I'm naturally this cheerful all the time."

"Yeah, sure. You're a natural born cheerleader." Dean scoffed. "On second thought I don't think I want to know what you're smiling about. You probably imagined an orphanage on fire or something." Dean said waving away his former question in a way Harry highly disapproved of if his sudden scowl was any indication.

"How is your hunt going Mr. Winchester?" Harry asked snidely. "Found a way to get rid of Casper yet?"

"Already taken care of." Dean said with a smirk heading over to where Sam was approaching two men sitting at a table near the bar. Harry followed with a shrug.

"That was…"

"Awful. Right?" Dean supplied to finish the tall skinny man's sentence. He slapped a twenty down between the two men. "Exactly. This round's on us guys."

"Not to interrupt your celebration," Harry supplied with a smirk. "But I'm curious. What did you do? Appease the ghosts with candy?"

"No, we lit her up of course." Dean said with a scoff as if it were the obvious answer.

"Ah, right." Harry said with a shake of his head. "Except you've 'lit up' the wrong corpse apparently."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked wide eyed.

"I mean there's still a ghost here. Honestly, aren't you supposed to be the bright brother?"

"How do you know?" Asked the heavy set man who was dressed eerily similar to Dean.

"I'm sorry…who are you?"

"Dean." The man supplied though he looked unsure at the proclamation.

Harry stared at the man a moment too long for his comfort obviously as he shifted. "I'm sure." He said shifting his eyes to the man's counterpart. "And you would be Sam in this equation?"

The skinny man nodded.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Can we please skip the semantics? I'd like to go home at some point this century."

"Then pop on out of here Merlin." Dean said snidely.

"Honestly Dean, do try to be original. I can't stand much more of the same joke." Harry bit out.

"You said a ghost was still here, but we burned Leticia Gore's bones." Sam argued.

"Well clearly you either did a piss poor job of it, or she wasn't the problem." Harry supplied with a shrug.

"This is all getting a bit weird." The skinny Sam cosplayer said with a shake of his head. "I mean, real ghosts, and you guys are talking to him like he can actually teleport or something." The man gestured toward Harry.

"Or something." Harry agreed flippantly. "I think I see a scotch with my name on it at the bar. Even if they do serve shitty liquor. Do try to work out your trust issues while I'm away."

Halfway to the bar a shrill scream, quite unlike the practiced and rather fake one earlier, filled the air. The bartender continued polishing his glass obviously not caring, most likely thinking it part of the odd events around him. Harry shrugged and continued on his way sure that the Winchesters were well on their way.

* * *

Once again Harry found himself corralled into the ballroom with the large crowd of overeager fans. Luckily he'd been ushered in with a large group and the people at the door had failed to notice his drink. Unluckily, the Winchesters had decided that now would be a good time to royally fuck up their hunt and allow ghosts to run rampant in a hotel full of guests. He glanced back at the salt line Sam was hurriedly laying near the back door as he made his way to the outskirts of the crowded room.

"I hope you've got margaritas to go with that." Harry said approaching the man. "Because otherwise I'm thinking you've surrendered the rest of the hotel to ghosts and I'm now trapped in my own personal version of hell."

"We'll have to put off the victory drinks." Dean said approaching with a woman dressed in a schoolmarm outfit. She, not so subtly eyed Harry like a piece of meat.

"I thought so." Harry said with a sigh.

A hand landed on Dean's shoulder. "We want to help." The heavy set man from before said determinedly. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Guys, no." Dean said shaking his head.

"Why?"

"Because this isn't make believe!" Dean snapped quietly trying not to draw attention from the far too bored staff they had brought into the room minutes before.

"Look, we know, we're not nuts." Harry snorted seriously doubting that sentiment. "We're freaking terrified."

"But if all these people are seriously in danger we've gotta do something."

"Why?"

"Because that's what Sam and Dean would do."

Harry sighed. That's what Sam and Dean were _trying_ to do. These two mooks weren't making it easier either.

Sam and Dean shared a look then they both glanced over at Harry.

"You know if you just use your hoodoo powers this would be over in a second." Dean hissed quietly.

Harry shrugged. "You know, I could…but I'm not going to."

"Why not?!" Dean growled frustrated.

"Oh Dean." Harry said patting his cheek condescendingly. "I'm having far too much fun watching you and your brother run about. It's a simple haunting. You're both experienced hunters. You should be able to handle it. Tell me, are all of your hunts like this? It seems tiring."

Dean scowled but didn't answer moving toward the doors.

"I tell you what," Harry said catching Dean and Sam's attention. "I'll keep watch here and make sure no one leaves. You two deal with the ghosts, and then at the end of the day we can all go home happy."

Dean shot him a look that clearly said he didn't think Harry was doing enough, but Harry just shrugged.

"Take it or leave it." He said as the door swung shut.

* * *

Chuck had long since run out of things to talk about that would keep an audience enraptured, and still the Winchesters hadn't resurfaced with the all clear. Harry himself was finding it hard to stay conscious as the man droned on about god knows what.

"Let's see, what else? I fell in love for the first time at 16. Lost my virginity, actually. But then she went around telling everybody it didn't count."

Harry blinked back into semi consciousness at that. Was the man seriously sharing his sex life. Oh man, he needed more to talk about. He wondered if setting something on fire would be a good subject change. Nah, too much room for panic induced running.

Caught in his ponderings he didn't pay attention to the man moving toward the door at a rather sedate pace.

"Excuse me! You really can't leave. Please sir!" Chuck yelled at the hotel manager who had one hand on the door handle. "Don't open that door!"

Harry wasn't quite quick enough in moving to stop the arrogant manager who was completely ignoring Chuck's demands. The door opened and the salt line broke much to Chuck's obvious dismay. He was already making a dash for the door bringing the mic stand with him much to Harry's surprise.

Harry tugged the man backwards just as the apparition of a small child holding a wicked looking knife materialized making the kid visible to anyone who was facing the door, and most everyone was. "I hate kids." Harry said scrunching up his nose as Chuck brought the mic stand down in front of them swiping right through the kid and dispersing him. Chuck swung the door shut a look of ebbing panic on his face. The manager seemed completely shell shocked.

"I said nobody leaves damn it!" Chuck shouted adrenaline making the words more harsh than normal. "Now somebody salt this door!"

Harry rolled his eyes flicking his wrist and the salt straightened itself much to the manager's surprise, and anyone else's who was close enough to see the act.

Needless to say the room was a little less boring after that. Questions were bursting forth from fans and employees alike about what had just occurred. Chuck seemed overwhelmed by all of it. Taking pity on the man Harry stepped forward tugging the mic from the man as he went.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen." Harry said eying the audience complacently and using a smooth tone that radiated confidence and calmness. He'd perfected it over the years and coined it as his business voice. "If you'd all return to your seats in an orderly fashion I'm sure we can take your questions like civilized human beings yes? Good."

"Who're you!?" A curious but obviously excitable fan called.

Harry tried not to roll his eyes. "Pipe down." He said singling the person out with his gaze. "Inciting a riot is hardly going to achieve anything meaningful." '_Except perhaps relieving me of my boredom.'_ He tacked on mentally.

Chuck seemed caught between relief at the microphone being taken from his hand and trepidation about standing next to Harry. He was probably remembering the stinging hex Harry had cast on him earlier with something less than fondness.

"What was that thing?" A woman near the front said obviously trying not to freak out and failing. She didn't seem like one of the fans, rather an employee caught in the midst of all this madness.

"That was a ghost ma'am. Do try to keep up with the class." Harry said snottily far beyond politeness. "Anyone have a more intelligent question." After the first answer everyone seemed a tad wary of asking anything. Finally a hand raised near the back. Harry nodded in its direction.

"How long are we going to have to stay in here?" Another employee.

Were the fans brain dead?

"Until my esteemed colleagues dispatch our little haunting problem."

"If those are real ghosts then how come they never attacked anyone before now?!" An angry man asked from near the door.

Harry's eyes swept lazily to him. "I'd recommend stepping away from the door." Harry said eying the way the man was moving slowly towards it and seemed reluctant to believe in ghosts.

"And if I don't?"

"Your funeral."

Chuck seemed aghast that Harry would even joke about that. He swiped the mic back, although it was obvious after a second that he sort of panicked thinking Harry would do something about the brash action. Harry just watched him with mild amusement.

"We all just need to remain calm." Chuck said making placating gestures in the air. "I'm sure we'll be able to leave soon."

As if his words were the signal Sam opened the back doors and gave a thumbs up. Chuck let out a sigh of relief as mutters ran through the crowd.

* * *

Becky Rosen, the entire reason that both the Winchesters and Harry had popped up at the convention was standing next to Chuck latched onto the man's arm. Harry glanced between her and the two men Dean was having a conversation with before heading in Chuck's direction. Best to go ahead and get his threats…erm…goodbyes taken care so he could get out of here and back to the real world.

"Look Sam. I'm not gonna lie. We had undeniable chemistry. But like a monkey on the sun it was too hot to live. It can't go on. Chuck and I, we found each other. My yin to his proud yang. And well, the heart wants what the heart wants. I'm so, so sorry."

Harry stopped several feet away slack jawed in absolute disgust by what he'd just heard. He shook himself out of it as Chuck too apologized, although Chuck seemed to realize that Sam actually had no feelings for the woman who was clinging to Chuck desperately.

"Will you be okay?"

Sam let out a long sigh. "Honestly, I don't know. I'll just have to find a way to keep living I guess."

If Harry had eaten anything in the last several hours he was sure he would have upchucked at the fake sentimentalism. As it was he simply gagged drawing attention to himself anyway.

Becky seemed ecstatic at his sudden arrival obviously ignoring the way he was staring at them with a frown.

"I wouldn't worry about him." Harry said putting his façade back in place. "I hear the ladies are just dropping like flies for him."

Sam tensed a bit at the obvious poking fun at what had happened to Jessica and perhaps Madison too if Harry knew about that.

"Ah, it's just like one of my fanfictions!" Becky said excitedly.

"You write fanfiction?" Harry said, the unease coming back in his stomach.

Becky looked hesitant to answer, obviously not having meant to admit such out loud. Her eyes flicked to Sam. "Yes but…"

"For the love of all that's holy, please tell me I'm not in any of it." Harry said dramatically.

"No!" Becky said vehemently agreeing then backtracking. "Well, there was this one story where you-"

"Oookay." Sam cut in catching the dangerous look in Harry's eye. "That's enough. I think we ought to leave now."

"If you touch me I will break your fingers Winchester." Harry said sending the man a heated glare when he had moved to usher Harry away.

Sam withdrew his hand immediately.

"Now then." Harry said straightening his jacket. "Fun though all of this has been…" Sarcasm dripped from his words. "I'm going to take my leave. The next time you feel like inviting me to one of your parties I recommend you don't." His glare had settled on the obviously unsettled Becky. "Mr. Shurley…yes I checked into your real name." He rolled his eyes at the slightly shocked look on the man's face. "If you must continue to print your books, and I don't see why you would, do make sure to find a reasonable alias for me. If you continue to print my real name I'm afraid I'll find it quite disagreeable. And people I don't agree with tend to end up dead. Have a nice day Sam." He said and was gone.

Sam, Becky, and Chuck were left staring at the empty space in shock. Sam mostly because he'd never really heard Harry threaten someone quite so openly. He usually found subtler ways to do it. Becky because she had no idea that Chuck's writings about Harry simply disappearing were quite so literal, and Chuck because he'd just been threatened with death.

* * *

Harry was going to need a lifetime's worth of scotch to erase the mental images that had been produced by that convention.

"Finally back are you?"

Harry tensed at the voice. "Crowley." He said turning with a forced smile. "Left the attack dogs at home today did you?"

Crowley looked perfectly at home in Gabriel's usual chair with his own glass of alcohol. "Didn't think I'd need them." He said honestly. "We're both business men by trade. I figured you wouldn't go back on an honest deal. I helped myself to some of your scotch. It's not my brand, but it's much better than anything the humans try to offer me when I show up."

Harry shrugged. He supposed he might be a bit more upset that the demon had been touching his precious alcohol at some other time, but he was simply out of reserve anger, and patience at this point. "Did you bring the items?" Harry said leaning forward as he sat down enjoying the feeling of the chair behind him.

"That depends," Crowley paused. "Where's the colt?"

Harry snapped his fingers and the colt materialized right above his hand. He deftly snatched it from the air before gravity could bring it crashing to the desk loudly. He lowered it so it was resting on the desk right in front of his hands.

Crowley stood producing a suitcase Harry hadn't seen before. Harry gestured for him to open it so he could inspect the contents. The demon hesitantly did so.

Instantly Harry recognized the four items that were present. They were indeed some of the stolen artifacts. He picked up the colt and offered it to Crowley end first taking the suitcase at the same time.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Crowley said vanishing.

Harry scrunched up his nose in distaste. If he had had an option he would have chosen not to have done business with the demon. Alas, life rarely went as Harry wanted it to.

* * *

**Aaaaand that's a wrap folks.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was sort of a little break from the more serious story line (which reasserted it self right there at the end).**

**A bit longer of a delay on getting the chapter out this time. Unfortunately I'm dealing with quite a few health issues and it's eating up my time. :/**

**Still, this chapter is a bit longer than usual so that sort of makes up for it yeah? Well, I suppose this is where I'll end the chapter. 'Til next time!**

**~Kanathia**


	11. Ch 10: Tergum Consilium

**This chapter contains only one scene from Abandon all hope, but I thought I'd list the episode anyway. The rest of the episode will be covered next chapter. **

**Episodes: 5.10 Abandon All Hope…**

Harry placed the thin sheet of paper he'd been handling back into the envelope and slid it into the briefcase. The paper, or rather parchment, was nigh on a century old and rather delicate. It also held a death curse. It was one of the four recovered items that he'd traded the colt for.

And how convenient it was that of the remaining missing items from the broken into vault one was a warding sigil strong enough to keep him away from the user. He was certain Crowley had simply neglected to return it after realizing its worth. Ah, well, Harry had kept the colt's bullets. He supposed two 'businessmen' were sure to cheat each other in some way in the end. Although Harry's withholdings could be replicated easily enough.

He was more worried about a certain coin that had gone missing. It seemed innocuous and most people wouldn't suspect the thing to be powerful, but looks were quite often deceiving. The coin corrupted the carrier irreparably. It could turn a saint into a mass murdering psychopath in under a week and not even Harry could reverse its effect. It wasn't much trouble if it fell into the hands of a demon as they were already corrupted beyond salvation, but in the hands of a human or angel it would wreak havoc.

"Harry."

Harry glanced up. "Anna." He greeted with a nod. "Is everything alright? I take it your new assignment is going well."

She scowled, but he could sense the relief that his giving her a purpose had brought her. She'd felt useless before and it agitated her to be stuck on the sidelines. "Everything's fine. I just came to make sure the papers were all signed."

Harry patted a stack of paperwork sitting to the right of his desk. "All done. Your house is paid for in full, as is the house for the kid and his family. How are the parents acting? The memories are taking well?"

She nodded. "They seem completely convinced that they decided to move there for a job opportunity."

"Is Jesse alright with everything?" Harry asked leaning back in his chair.

"Yes, he's still having issues controlling some of his powers but his bursts of random magic have gotten less frequent."

After acquiring a new vessel for Anna that the angels would have a harder time identifying through followers Harry had sent the woman with Jesse to California. She had agreed that it was vital for the kid to learn how to control his powers so that he could remain on the down low and escape the notice of both the angels and demons that hunted for him. According to Jesse's parent's memories she was his new math tutor and their new neighbor. It allowed Anna to be close to the family and even closer to Jesse without being suspicious.

"He asks about you a lot." Anna said taking a seat. Her medium blonde hair flopped over her shoulder. "He wants to know if you'll visit. You haven't seen him since that night. I think he wants to thank you."

Harry shook his head with a small smile. "I can't. It puts him and his family at risk. You know that."

She nodded, albeit hesitantly. "Maybe I could bring him here." She quickly continued as he opened his mouth to argue. "Just for a few minutes. You saved the kid's life, and you gave him an option to stay with his parents. It may not be ideal but I think he realizes that he could be way worse off than he is."

Harry placed a hand on his face and let out a sigh. "Maybe, but not now…and not here."

She raised a brow. "Why not here?"

"I can only put up the most basic of wards here to make sure any sort of client can find me. That's means it's not exactly secure."

She nodded understandingly. Her brothers only needed one hole and the right timing and they would try to take Jesse out. It was better that they make a place as safe as possible if they were going to do anything risky like exposing the kid. It had taken Harry weeks to get wards up around the new house for the Turners, or as they now remembered themselves, the Millers.

Anna's eyes drifted to the suitcase she'd seen Harry fiddling with when she came in. "What's in there?"

"Some of the stolen items from my storage room. They were returned to me not long ago."

"So how many are left?"

"Two or three."

"Let me guess…the important ones?"

Harry didn't dignify the question with an answer. He was sure the look on his face said enough.

"I should be getting back." Anna said glancing up at the clock on the wall. Harry nodded.

"Send my greetings." He said absentmindedly moving papers from one area of his desk to another. "Oh, and Anna…"

She nodded holding up a hand. "I know." She said vanishing from her chair.

He'd called her out on her reckless behavior several times now as a sort of reminder not to do it again. He'd told her ages ago she'd gotten her final warning. That if she purposely sought out another angel that was bent on killing her he'd leave her to her own devices. He was sure her death sentence from the angels was part of the reason she'd taken to Jesse. After all, angels normally felt deep seated hatred for cambions.

Harry felt the small twinge in his mind that let him know Gabriel was entering his wards. Sure enough moments later the angel was on his chair leaned forward unwrapping the largest candy bar Harry had ever seen in person.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Harry asked stretching and feeling a satisfying pop in his back.

"I've been thinking…" Gabriel trailed off popping piece of the chocolate into his mouth.

"Dangerous business that, best to do it in moderation."

Gabriel gave him an unimpressed look. "You and I…we're on the same boat. The boat's sinking. Why not form a partnership so we both keep floating?"

"A partnership for mutual benefit?" Harry smiling amusedly. "I believe that's what I suggested in that particularly unwelcoming warehouse."

"Consider this my acceptance speech then." Gabriel said with a scowl obviously wishing to take the credit for the idea so he had leverage later.

Harry held his hands up placatingly. "So be it." He didn't exactly have many level headed allies at the moment. He didn't have the option to turn the angel down. Besides, annoying habits aside, Gabriel was in fact strong. Harry pulled out his desk drawer and retrieved an open red envelope with an invitation inside. "I assume you got one of those?"

Gabriel picked it up curiously, sliding the invitation out and reading it over with interest. "Nope." He said succinctly after a moment tossing it back in Harry's direction. "What? Want to rub it in my face that you get invited to the fancy parties and I don't?"

Harry smirked. "I thought you wormed your way in to the Norse legends as a god. Isn't that how Loki was born?"

Gabriel shrugged. Between them sat the invitation to a meeting of gods. It seemed perfectly innocent just sitting there with the date still months away from the current time, but the calling together of deities meant there was a general unrest among them.

"Well, I'm sure my constituents won't mind me bringing a plus one." Harry said sliding the invitation back into his desk drawer.

"You want me to go?" Gabriel asked raising an eyebrow.

"As Loki." Harry agreed. "Something tells me they're not calling the meeting to have a poker tournament. Something is going to go down there. Having backup isn't exactly a bad idea."

Gabriel was nodding obviously thinking about the implied cooperation.

"Consider it the first planned act of a partnership."

Gabriel grinned in an all too familiar way. "Sure thing." He settled himself back in his chair. "So did you figure out where all those demons are going?"

Harry shook his head. "Yes, and no." he said rubbing his eyes. "They're all heading to the Southwest but I can't figure out exactly where, and I definitely haven't figured out why. All I know is that the whole area is going off the scale with omens. My phone has practically exploded with phone calls from hunters wondering if I know what's going on."

As if to emphasize his point the phone began ringing from its position on the side table. Gingerly Harry stood grabbing his phone and pressing the green button to answer the call. "Hello."

A concerned female voice poured through the earpiece, and Harry had to fight the urge to groan. "Yes, I'm aware."

More frantic words from the woman.

"No…" He could feel her about to start talking again. "Do try a different source love. Between the calls I've been getting all day and the paperwork I've been working on I haven't had the chance to check into it. Call me back tomorrow." Without any more exchanges Harry hit the disconnect button and tossed the phone onto his desk.

"Well, if we're going to be working together I thought you might want this. It seemed like something that might catch your interest." Gabriel said tossing a newspaper onto Harry's desk. Harry grabbed it examining the overly large headline that was printed across the front.

'**Town Struck by Sudden Illness, Thousands Die**' Harry raised an eyebrow unimpressed. He'd lived through the bubonic plague a few times, human illness was hardly a new concept to him. "Your point?"

"And here I thought you were one step from omnipotence." Gabriel said shaking his head. "Pestilence… my brother's groomsman, I think it's safe to say he's behind that."

"I gathered that. I'm trying to figure out why you think I care." Harry said tossing the newspaper to the side.

"Look, I know you're going after Death's ring." Gabriel said with a shrug finally giving in and taking another bite of his chocolate bar. Harry was surprised he had withstood the urge that long.

"In a manner of speaking."

"You're having the Winchesters go after it."

Harry's eyes narrowed.

Gabriel shrugged. "They have big mouths. I figured you'd have learned that about them by now." Gabriel paused to open the wrapper further on his candy. "The thing with the Winchesters is that they have a habit of screwing people over."

Harry raised an eyebrow. All his sources said the Winchesters were good to their word.

"Don't give me that look." Gabriel said waving his hand. "Sure, they hold of their end of the bargain fine, as long as it suits their purposes. Usually when it comes to deals with people… well… more than human… they get a little trigger happy. You're more likely to come out of this with a bullet in your forehead than with the ring in hand. So I recommend a bit of…insurance. I take it you have a reason that you're not going after the ring yourself so I recommend you find something the Winchesters want just as much. Then you trade."

Harry was leaning forward listening to the angel's plan with rapt attention. He had had a feeling the Winchesters might try to keep the ring once they found it. It was a powerful artifact after all. He figured he might end up having to fight for it, but he hadn't thought to formulate a backup plan to trade for the ring. Which was quite narrow sighted of himself if he had to admit it. "What makes you think the Winchesters are interested in Pestilence?"

"I heard it through the grapevine." Gabriel said with a smug smile. "But it's less Pestilence himself and more his ring."

"Another ring?"

"Yep. Word is there are four of the little buggers and when you put them all together, whoosh, the door to dear old Lucy's cage is wide open again."

"There's a way to get him back in that contraption?"

"If the rumor's true." Gabriel conceded.

Harry slid the paper back over to examine the headline again. "Grand Island, Nebraska…" he muttered.

"So are you gonna go for it?" Gabriel seemed completely indifferent.

Harry considered the page for a moment longer. "I don't see a reason not to. Having a backup plan is never a terrible option. Do you know if the Winchesters have collected any of the other rings?"

"From the sounds of it they have one. War's ring. In fact, story is you were there when they got it."

Harry blinked. "If I was I don't remember it." He said stretching. "Should I take it that you're staying behind again?"

Gabriel put a hand to his chest as if offended by the mere thought. "What kind of partner would I be if I did that?"

Harry eyed him for a second before shrugging. He didn't care whether or not Gabriel tagged along as long as the angel didn't get it his way when it came to doing something important. "Shall we?"

Both were gone an instant later making the trip to Grand Island in seconds.

* * *

St. Francis Medical Center looked like most hospitals Harry had seen in the US. A red brick exterior with wide windows to make it seem less ominous. Though the slightly deteriorated signs and over packed parking lot did little to make one feel at ease. The sheer number of people packed into the place made it seem like stepping inside would lead to one's demise in and of itself. Harry had never been happier to discover his immunity to human diseases all those years ago.

Still, the thought that this place was literally laced with disease didn't exactly up his desire to step foot inside. He tilted his head to side and motioned for Gabriel to follow him. The side door Harry found was locked, as expected, but with a small twitch of his finger it unlocked and Harry pulled the door open gesturing for his angel counterpart to enter first. Harry followed behind relocking the heavy metal door.

Inside they found themselves faced with a long white hallway as was typical for hospitals. A few people bustled about too busy with their jobs to notice the new comers who seemed somewhat out of place in their clothing that wasn't scrubs. Harry started at a sedate pace down the hall. "So how do we find him?" Harry asked Gabriel without glancing over. "I imagine I'll be able to recognize him once we're face to face, but this is a rather large hospital. I'd rather not search every ward room by room."

Gabriel shrugged. "Look for the sickest people and hope he's there?"

Harry frowned, but accepted the suggestion. He pulled out a small badge from his pocket and flicked his wrist at it. The lettering shifted into a passable replica of a CDC badge. He charmed a second badge for Gabriel and tossed it over. The angel caught it.

"What's this for?" he asked flipping open the cover and grimacing at the name inside. "Dannie Anderson?"

"Don't complain or I'll make it something worse." Harry said placing his badge back in his inside pocket for easy retrieval. "It's in case we get stopped."

Gabriel grimaced but placed the badge in his own pocket. Harry stopped once they passed through a set of double doors to consult a plastic board with directions on it.

"The ICU maybe?" he muttered.

"Couldn't hurt to check." Gabriel inserted.

Harry shrugged and they made their way for the elevator. Harry scanned every person they passed with analytical eyes to make sure they didn't pass Pestilence on their way up. When the elevator doors opened on the third floor Harry had to fight to keep his hand away from his mouth. People were sprawled in chairs lining the entirety of the room they'd just walked into. Almost every one of them seemed to be sick to some degree. Harry motioned for Gabriel to follow him as he exited and took swift steps around the packed room until he'd moved past the surprisingly empty nurse's desk and into one of the adjacent hallways. Something was pulling him in that direction.

Voices could be heard from one of the rooms to the right and it set Harry on edge for a moment though he couldn't place why. He froze just outside of the door realizing why it seemed out of place. In this whole building they'd yet to hear a person who didn't at least sound like they had a severe cold and this person, a man if Harry's hearing was correct, didn't seem to be sick in the slightest. "I think we've found him." Harry muttered back to Gabriel who just raised a brow.

He nudged the slightly ajar door letting it slowly creep open to reveal the room beyond. An old man lay in the bed there and a younger man half sat on the edge leaning forward and examining the older one. "Come in. Shut the door. You know you're not to leave it open." The younger said without raising his head to see who'd entered, but it was obvious he was expecting someone else.

Harry motioned for Gabriel to follow him in and he shut the door behind him flicking his hand so that it locked as well. Best to remove the chance of Pestilence darting out of the room or backup finding him. "Pestilence I presume?" Harry asked moving away from the door.

To the younger man's credit he didn't flinch nor even seem scared at the unexpected guests he'd received. He simply put down the older man's hand and turned in their direction in a calm manner. From the lack of response and the flat line on the machine to the side of the bed Harry deduced that the man was either dead... or disconnected and in a very deep sleep. He was betting on dead though. "I'm afraid I don't know your name." Pestilence said a bit of curiosity leaking into his tone.

"Harry Potter at your service." Harry said with a wan smile.

"Loki." Gabriel said with a bit of a wave.

"What can I do for you?" Pestilence said moving to the side of the bed and grabbing a small notepad to jot down something. "Since you know that name I assume you didn't come here for a check up."

"Your ring." Harry said eying the bright metal band. He saw no reason to skirt around the issue or lie.

"What about it?" Pestilence said pen stopping in its tracks.

"I've come for it." Harry said meeting the horseman's eyes. Instantly Harry felt several rather odd disruptions in his magic. They only lasted a split second and Harry was amused when he figured out what it was. "Oh that's cute."

Pestilence seemed a bit wary now for some reason Gabriel couldn't identify. He glanced between the two men curiously.

"Ebola, meningitis, and…is that…syphilis?" Harry said head tilted to the side with curiosity. "I'm sure you could do worse too, but really what's the point?" He extended his hand. "Your ring, if you would."

Pestilence eyed Harry's hand for a moment. "Why should I give it to you?"

"It would save you pain, for one." Harry said flippantly.

"I die without this ring!" Pestilence yelled.

"Nonsense." Harry said with a scowl. He didn't take well to being yelled at and he was barely restraining the urge to smack something against the horseman's head for his tone. "You'll leave that body and become incorporeal again, but you won't die. Nothing can kill Pestilence. There are always new diseases being spread."

Pestilence actually seemed to ponder that statement for a minute. "What makes you so sure?"

Harry shrugged. "You pick up the inner workings of the universe when you've been around as long as I have." He said nonchalantly. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"The easy way being me giving you the ring, and the hard way being…?"

Harry reached into his jacket and retrieved a small, sharp knife. "You lose a few fingers." He said with a ghastly grin.

Pestilence eyed the blade for a moment longer then seemed to think about something intensely.

Harry sighed. "I don't have all day. Just give me the ring and you can be back wherever the hell you please spreading illness to your heart's content. Right now you're at the beck and call of a pathetic whiny angel, and it's that ring that binds you. You can't really want that."

Pestilence stared at the ring for a moment before looking up and smirking. "I suppose not." He said slipping the ring off and vanishing. The thick silver band clunked down onto the floor and rolled just a bit before coming to a rest. Harry smiled bending down to pick it up.

"Well, that went better than I expected it to." Gabriel said staring wide eyed at the ring now resting between Harry's fingers. "I swear you could convince the Queen she was a street mouse if you tried hard enough."

Harry pocketed the ring and made for the door. "That wouldn't have worked if he didn't despise his situation." He said with a roll of his eyes. "Lucky for me your big brother makes a terrible boss."

Gabriel snorted but didn't disagree. Harry smirked. "Back to your office then?"

* * *

Dean splashed holy water across the possessed human's face and watched the resulting cloud of steam with some morbid sense of satisfaction. Sam shook his head at his brother's enthusiasm. "I always liked that part." Dean said with a smirk as he turned back to the demon. "So, you want to tell us what the devil's planning?"

"I don't know!" The man hissed desperately. They'd captured the demon hours ago and they'd been trying to get a fix on Lucifer's plans ever since. Needless to say they'd been doing some less than pleasant 'interrogation' tactics. "I told you I don't know!"

Sam was hesitant to believe the demon, but after everything they'd done it was getting harder and harder to doubt that this demon really didn't know anything.

"I'm just a grunt!" The demon continued talking, pleading. He was exceptionally talkative for a demon. "How would I know anything about 'him'?"

"Well you'd better hope you have _something_ good to say." Dean said pulling the demon killing knife from his jacket and picking his nails with it. The demon's wide eyes followed the deadly blade.

"Y-you want something that'll kill the devil right?" the demon asked eyes never straying.

Dean snorted. "And a 'grunt' like you knows about something that can do that?"

"The colt!" The demon said desperately. "The colt could!"

"Yeah, maybe, but you don't have the colt." Dean said confused by the demon's trail of thought. He nodded to Sam who stood fishing out the small book with the exorcism rights written in it. Sam had insisted they try to remove the demon through exorcism in case the host was still alive. Dean had caved in after about thirty minutes of Sam's annoyed huffing and disapproving looks.

"Shit, no!" The demon looked terrified now as Sam began the ritual. "I don't have it but I know who does!"

"Yeah. So do we." Dean said with a smirk. "Sorry, outdated information isn't going to do you much good."

"No, no, no, no, no you can't know!" The demon panicked. "He just got it recently! You can't know!"

"Who just got it recently?" Sam asked stopping the ritual.

"A demon." The demon replied, clearly being vague in hopes that he could buy more time, for what they were unsure.

Dean and Sam shared a look. How did a demon have the colt when the last person they'd seen it with was Harry? "Which demon?" Dean asked leaning forward and holding the knife at the ready.

"Crowley, his name is Crowley. King of the crossroads." The demon got out and then something seemed to change in his expression. A normal person may not have detected it, but Dean had been doing his job for a long time. He spun on the spot; knife plunging into the stomach of his would be attacker.

Sam started up the exorcising ritual again in case there were any other unexpected visitors on their way. A scowl graced his face through the whole thing as the demon returned to pleading for them to stop. Dean took a step closer and Sam halted his words again. The demon quieted a bit.

"So you say this Crowley guy has the colt. Where can we find him?"

The demon shook its head, eyes wide. "I don't know…"

"We'll see about that."

* * *

Sam threw the bag of weapons into the trunk and slammed it closed. "Do you think he was telling the truth?" he asked moving toward the passenger door.

Dean shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

Sam sighed. "You know we could be walking right into a trap."

Dean smirked as the Impala roared to life. "Sam Winchester having trust issues with a demon? Well better late than never."

"Thank you again for your continued support." Sam snipped rolling his eyes.

"You're welcome." Dean smiled as they pulled onto the interstate heading for Bobby's to meet up with Jo and Ellen.

"You weren't all that gung ho about getting the colt before now. What changed?"

Dean's grip on the steering wheel tightened.

Sam watched his brother's harsh gaze at the road. "It's Harry isn't it? You didn't think we'd be able to get the colt from him."

Dean glanced over just for a moment, but it was enough for Sam to know he was right. "No Sam, I don't think he would have given us the colt. I mean, why would he? What's that going to get him in the long run?"

Sam sighed. "So do you think the colt can kill Lucifer?"

Dean shrugged. "It's worth a try, but you know even if it can…you can't come with-"

"Dean." Sam said warningly.

"Look, if I go and it doesn't work. Fine. We lose a game piece, but if you go it's like we're handing him his vessel."

"You're not a game piece Dean, and Lucifer can't use me as his vessel unless I say 'yes'. So where's the danger?"

Dean bit down retorts.

* * *

Dean and Sam watched from a distance as Jo drew the property's guards to the entrance. They took a moment to make sure they were in the clear before hopping the fence and hightailing it back toward the entrance to help their fellow hunter. They made it just in time to see Jo knock one demon down flat. Without hesitating in the slightest Sam lunged forward and stabbed the demon which had moved to attack Jo through the neck.

"Good timing." She said with a twitch of her lips as she pulled wire cutters from her small purse.

Sam tossed the knife to Dean who finished off the demon Jo had taken down.

"Let's get this party started." Jo said moving toward the house.

"Inside?" Dean asked following. Sam nodded. They would go inside to plant the trap while Jo worked on cutting the power.

Sam quickly picked the lock on the French door and they both moved cautiously toward where they could hear music and see flickering light. Sam pointed to a rug that ran from the room they had entered onward and got a nod from Dean who was watching to make sure no one got a jump on them. They knew Jo should be meeting up with Ellen about now outside and that gave them mere minutes to set the trap before the power went and they were intentionally discovered.

Sam grabbed a can of spray paint and began to spray a devils trap as hastily and correctly as he could given the circumstances. He popped the cap back on and flipped the rug back into its proper place just as the lights went out. The silence that was created by the lack of music in the next room was unnerving. Sam backed up so he was next to Dean again.

He'd barely taken another breath and drawn out the demon killing knife when a dark haired man appeared in the doorway near the devil's trap. "It's Crowley, right?" Sam asked trying to keep the demon's attention from the rug he'd just noticed was still slightly lifted. He felt his shoulders tense as Crowley took another step forward.

"So, the Hardy boys finally found me." He lifted his foot to step forward and then looked down to consider the rug and Sam knew they'd been found out. Crowley flipped the rug revealing the pattern and grimaced. "Do you have any idea what that rug cost?" he asked snapping his fingers.

Instantly two larger demons were restraining the brothers and Crowley withdrew a gun from his jacket. Well, not A gun, THE gun. The colt rested in his hands and the brothers knew then that the demon they'd interrogated hadn't been lying. "This is it right? This is what it's all about." Crowley said lifting the gun and leveling it at Dean's chest. Without hesitation Crowley pulled the trigger twice, but the bullets didn't hit Sam and Dean. They hit dead center in the foreheads of the demons restraining them. The Winchesters shared a disbelieving look. "We need to talk…privately." Crowley said turning and gesturing for them to follow.

Dean hustled after the demon worried that Crowley would simply vanish if he was out of their sight for more than a moment. Sam followed a bit grudgingly. This whole situation felt off to him.

"What the hell is this?" Dean said as they entered an office.

Crowley rolled his eyes. "Do you know how deep I could have buried this thing?" he asked with a wave of his hand that sent the door crashing shut behind Sam who eyed it warily. "There's no reason you or anyone else should know this exists except that I told you."

"You told us?"

"Rumors, innuendos, and a quite convincing performance from one spare demon, all sent out on the grapevine to bring you here." Crowley said sounding a bit proud honestly.

"Why? Why tell us anything? And where did you even get it? Last we knew-"

"Your buddy Harry had it?" Crowley asked with a smug grin. "Nice bloke, easy to make a deal with if you know what I mean. But that's not the point. I want you to take this to Lucifer, and empty it into his face."

"Uh huh, and why exactly would you want the devil dead?"

"It's called survival." Crowley said setting the colt down on his desk. "Well, I forgot. You two are, at best, functioning morons."

"You're…functioning…morons." Dean attempted a witty reply and obviously came up short. Same was somewhat reminded of their conversations with Harry which quite often ended up being an insult battle.

Crowley sighed as if Dean's comment had somehow killed brain cells. "Lucifer isn't a demon remember? He's an angel. An angel famous for his hatred of humankind. To him, you're just filthy bags of pus. If that's the way he feels about you, what can he think about us?"

"But he created you."

"To him, we're just servants. Cannon fodder. If Lucifer manages to exterminate humankind, we're next. So, help me, huh? Let's all go back to simpler, better times, back to when we could all follow our natures. I'm in sales, damn it! So what do you say if I give you this thing, and you go kill the devil?" He held out the gun handle first and wiggled it a bit in offer.

Sam reached forward and took it with a frown in place. "Great."

"Great." Crowley agreed.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the devil is by chance would you?"

"Thursday, birdies tell me, he has an appointment in Carthage, Missouri."

Sam glanced at Dean who nodded in return. "Great." He said putting the gun to Crowley's temple and pulling the trigger. A resounding click filled the room, and Crowley stared at the gun impassively.

A second passed and then he stood moving around the desk. "Oh, yeah, right. You'll probably need some more ammunition." He opened the center drawer to the desk.

"Aren't you kind of signing your own death warrant? What happens if we go up against the devil and lose?"

Crowley slammed the drawer having retrieved what he was going after. "Number one, he's going to wipe us all out anyway. Two, after you leave here, I go on an extended vacation to all points nowhere. And three, how about you don't miss, okay! Morons!"

He tossed the small case to Dean and Sam moved closer as his brother opened it to reveal bullets for the colt. When they looked back up Crowley was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

**I got halfway through editing this chapter and realized it was going to take me another two days to do it at the rate I was going. So needless to say I went ahead and released the chapter without editing all the way through. Hence any large number of mistakes you might find.**

**I'm sorry for the late update. Still having medical issues. In fact they're the cause of my inability to edit fast. I can't see the damned screen well enough to focus on the words. **

**Thankfully I have a doctor's appointment Tuesday that should at least get me on the way to recovery. We'll see. **

**I'll wrap up this depressing little author's note by saying I plan to edit this once I'm able to focus again, and I'm not sure how soon the next chapter will be out. Sorry again about that, but enjoy this chapter in the mean time, yeah? **

'**Til next time!**

**~Kanathia**


	12. Ch 11: Puellarum in Angustia

**It's happened! We've broken 4 thousand hits in a single day. Celebrate! And just in time for my birthday too which was this past week! :D I've just turned 21. I'm over sharing because I'm excited. **

**The number of hits this story has seen is slowly getting closer to 100,000. When we get there I might try to release two chapters on the same day as a sort of prize. I've never had a story hit that point before so I might even start celebrating in real life XD Break out a few champagne bottles or something lol**

**Even more good news, I don't usually check this stat, but apparently this story is currently a part of 49 communities. I am beyond ecstatic with how well this story is being received. **

**I would like to personally thank every person who has added me to their community, reviewed, favorited, followed, or even simply read this story. You're all awesome people. Internet cookies for all of you. **

**Episodes: 5.10 Abandon All Hope**

* * *

"Do you know why the caged bird sings?"

Harry turned his eyes to the man behind him in nondescript clothing. He seemed almost a part of the dull landscape Harry's mind had afforded the dream. "Because it dreams of escape." He said turning away from the man again hoping he would not have to carry on a wearying philosophical discussion even while sleeping. The dream man had other ideas.

"No, one cannot dream of something incomprehensible, and freedom is something the trapped cannot really understand."

Harry smiled sardonically. "Either my subconscious has stepped up its conversation skills or you're not really me."

"Of course I am not you." The man delivered with a hint of amusement. "You are you."

"Helpful." Harry said taking up a smooth stride away from the man, leaving it to the stranger to either follow or be left behind. Since staying would mean having to leave the dreamscape as Harry moved to a new scenario he had no doubt the man would follow, and he was not disappointed.

"Do you know why the caged bird sings?"

Harry glanced back around at the man only slightly surprised to see he looked slightly different. His skin was now a healthier pink, and a bit of scruff was present on his chin.

"Is it important that I answer that or can I ignore it?" Harry asked not altogether amused anymore. Something about the man annoyed him and he couldn't figure out why.

The man shrugged moving past Harry to sit on a rapidly appearing park bench. "You don't seem surprised by my presence."

"It's not so uncommon for two people to share a dreamscape." Harry said watching the man. "I've had my fair share of encounters. It is rare that the person I meet is aware that it's happening."

The man nodded staring Harry up and down and making him feel less comfortable with the situation by the minute. Then a smile blossomed on the man's face. "I've always found you intriguing."

* * *

Harry's eyes snapped open and he bolted upright in his bed. Something was wrong with the world. Something was very, very wrong. The air seemed thick with an almost tangible trepidation as if the Earth itself was waiting with bated breath to see how some unseen plot played out.

Harry climbed off of his mattress, dream forgotten for the moment, and grabbed the pants he'd stripped off earlier for his nap dragging them back up his legs and throwing on a shirt. Something in him was shouting that the world was about to go very wrong for him and that was enough to make Harry pay attention. "But where?" he grunted to himself moving for his shoes and he nearly fell when the world seemed to scream an answer back to him, but it wasn't the world. He knew that voice well, but he hadn't heard it in a long time.

Placing a balancing hand on the wall he grimaced. "So today's the day then?" he muttered to himself. "Death."

He let the word hang there for a minute as he brushed his hair back from his forehead with one hand. He caught his reflection on a shining piece of glass near the door and spotted his scar, still standing prominently on his forehead. He scowled turning from the reflection. The scar was nothing more than a reminder of his failures now. A small permanent etching that told him how he had once been the 'boy who lived' and that still hadn't been enough to save the people he loved when they really needed it. Death had mocked him that day by stealing so many lives, and he'd yet to forgive himself for his shortcomings.

He grit his teeth. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to stay away from Death. It was so obviously a trap that he'd have to be an idiot not to realize such, but his head and perhaps whatever was left of his human will to do stupidly reckless things was telling him to go. It told him that there were people there that probably needed his help, and if he could offer help perhaps he could redeem himself for just a little of his past mistakes.

He shook his head. His human emotions were trying to fight their way back to the surface. He'd long since stop letting them control his actions and he wasn't about to let them start running the show again.

He hesitated halfway through moving to unbutton his shirt again. He wanted to go. Somehow, even without his guilt or hero complex pushing him he still wanted to go. Perhaps it was curiosity?

He let his hand drop from the button. Logically it was an idiotic move to make, and Harry was far from an idiot. He smirked, but he'd never let logic slow him down before either. With a thought he had decided he would go, but he would not walk in blindly.

* * *

Harry wasn't sure what he was expecting to see when he popped into Carthage, Missouri, the place he'd heard screamed to him from Death himself, but it certainly wasn't this. Reapers were everywhere. Every direction he turned held dozens of them, all seemingly focused in the same direction with creepy precision. He nudged the one closest to him and watched as the elderly looking reaper turned to him in confusion. It acknowledged his presence with little more than a scowl before resituating again and ignoring him. Harry shrugged. He'd never cared for reapers anyway they were far too set in their ways to have anything of use to offer him. Although, occasionally, he'd been known to get one of them to do him a favor when they in turn wanted something from him.

Ignoring the packed streets Harry meandered a bit seeing what was around. Several minutes into his wandering he heard gun fire. One eyebrow rose curiously. With a shrug he set off in the direction he'd heard the retorts issuing from, but the bullet had long since stopped firing by the time he'd managed to get anywhere near their location. So he took to meandering a bit more as the sun dipped a bit lower in the sky.

"Oh…that can't be good." He said with a frown having spotted several hell hounds circling a store front. Whoever was inside must have found a way to temporarily block the beasts from entrance. Harry circled around looking for a back door. He didn't really want to deal with the hell hounds unless he had to. Luckily enough he found a door and no hell hounds were near it. He could've sworn he saw someone dive out of sight not too far away, but that was something he'd deal with if he had to. He turned the door knob and wasn't overly surprised to find it locked. He snapped his fingers and the knob turned freely in his hand opening the door. He stepped easily over a hastily laid salt line and shut the door behind him. With another snap o his fingers the door relocked.

He appeared to be in the storage room of a convenience store if the piles of boxed crisps and energy drinks were anything to judge by. He opened a second door and found himself in the front area. Surprisingly a bucket stood in front of him filled to the brim with salt, iron nails, and other general nuisances to anything demonic.

"It's not ready yet." A voice hissed, panic lacing the words and making them sharper. "It's not ready."

A second voice tried to shush the first, but it was too late. Harry had already heard them. He moved around the half empty shelves toward the voices and found a strange sight indeed. Two women lay there in front of the counter, both blonde. The younger, and significantly paler, of the two held a small remote in one of her shaking hands. Wires ran from the remote to every bucket of what Harry realized was one giant bomb waiting to be detonated. His eyes completely disregarded the current 'danger' to focus on the older woman. "I know you…" he said with some confusion, recognition flaring in his mind.

The women looked up having not noticed him until that moment. He saw remembrance flicker across her face as well. "You…" she said disbelievingly.

Harry would have said more but his eyes had just caught on the younger blonde's side where bloodied bandages were held to her side with ace wraps. "Bloody hell." He said blinking. "You look like you've seen better days."

The older blonde, Ellen if Harry remembered right, scowled and grimaced at the reminder of the younger's physical state. The younger blonde gave a half hearted laugh. "Understatement…of the year." She said hand pushed firmly against the wound. She glared up at Harry. "Demon?"

Harry blinked. "What makes you think that?"

"Well you just showed up in a town that's been overrun by the bastards." Ellen quipped half heartedly. "The devil himself is here, and you show up out of nowhere. What else are we supposed to think you are?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Honestly. You're as bad as the Winchesters. Always jumping to the wrong conclusions." He moved to take a step and instantly found a gun pointed at him. He raised a brow, but took the step anyway. "Try to help save a girl's life and get thanked with a gun to the face. I underestimated your idiocy Mrs. Harvelle."

"I don't…want your help…if I've got to…"

"Sell you soul?" Harry asked assuming that's where she had been going with her statement and wishing to hurry along the process.. "Sorry, you're taking a bit too long to finish your sentences so I thought I'd hurry the process for you. You two are definitely hunters. You've got the mentality down to an art. Just one problem, I'm not a demon."

"How do we know that?"

"You don't." Harry said with a shrug. "But I don't think you have many more options at the moment. Not if you want blondie to survive." He nodded down towards the younger one whose glare was becoming less potent by the second as she succumbed to the blood loss.

Ellen still seemed unsure, but she lowered the gun. Harry moved to Jo's side. "I don't know what you can do. There's nothing here that can stop the bleeding. We've looked."

"Well, there's something here now isn't there?" he said with a smirk placing his hands over the wound and slowly peeling back the bandages. Jo groaned, barely managing that as she moved closer to unconsciousness. Oh, it was bad. Vomit inducing bad. Harry grimaced but placed his hand right onto an exposed organ. He didn't much want to think about which one it might be. They all sort of looked similar when they were soaked in blood and torn open. With just the slightest bit of energy channeled through his hand the thing began to knit itself back together under his touch, but slower than he'd expected. There was something in the wound fighting him. Something very far from human.

"This wound." He said not taking his eyes from where he was slowly repairing the damage. "How did she get it?"

Ellen looked nonplussed for a moment. "You're really not with the demons are you?" she said unsure. Harry shot her an annoyed glance. "The hellhounds outside got her before we could get here. She tried to save De…" Ellen cut herself off with a slap of her hand over her mouth.

Harry raised his head. "Dean?" he asked. "Were you about to say Dean? As in Dean Winchester?"

Ellen stared back resolutely not answering.

"You know, your refusal to answer is enough for me to know that's what you meant." Harry said moving his hands away from the girl's side and eliciting a moan from her. The blood had staunched temporarily. "I take it the bomb you have here is to take out the hell hounds circling the building then?"

Ellen still said nothing eyes flickering between Harry and her daughter who'd long since passed out.

"Here's the deal Ellen." Harry said eyes flashing dangerously. "You give me information, I save your daughter's life. I was going to do it out of the goodness of my heart, but you're starting to get on my nerves. Now, why are the Winchesters here?"

"So you are a demon."

"No!" Harry said frustrated. "I'm not. I'm irritated, that's what I am. Why are the Winchesters here?"

"I only said Dean was here." Ellen said unhelpfully.

"If Dean's here, then Sam's here. Those two are so dependent on each other it's laughable." Harry said scooping up the thin blonde girl in front of him. "What's her name?" he asked glancing down at the girl in his arms as memories of the last time he'd carried someone like this flooded his head and then were promptly shoved away.

"Jo." Ellen answered standing as Harry did and looking like she wanted to take Jo from Harry. Harry wasn't one to deny the woman what she wanted. He thrust Jo into her arms.

"Alright then, take Jo. Get her out of this building. She's stable for now but try not to hit her side too much." He resituated the bandage so it was covering the smaller woman's side again. "I take it the hell hounds outside are locked on your scent and those salt lines aren't going to hold forever. I'll take care of the nuisances and then meet up with you."

Ellen seemed unsure on whether she could trust Harry or not, but seeing a way out of this where Jo survived was more than enough incentive to make her start moving. She halted halfway to the door Sam and Dean had taken not so long ago. "Won't the hell hounds just follow us if we leave you here? They have our scent after all, not yours."

Harry smirked wickedly. "Not if I don't let them." He said before turning back to the doors. Ellen spared him one last glance before hustling up the steps to escape.

Harry could see the shapes of the massive hell hounds outside of the shop as they passed back and forth testing the salt lines and looking for a weakness. Harry threw a few protection spells around himself and waited another minute. He had to be precise with the timing. He would have only about two minutes once he opened those doors to get all the hell hounds in. If he took too long they'd notice that none of their original victims were there. He had to detonate the bomb in that time, but he had to make sure that Ellen and Jo were outside of the blast radius when he did so, but not so far as to alert the hell hounds that they'd escaped. Harry ran through mental calculations with a frown keeping a firm hold on his sensing abilities so he knew where Ellen was. When she'd made it to the roof Harry snapped his fingers and the chains on the front door broke. A wave of his hand scattered the salt. Suddenly the doors slammed against the walls as the first of the hell hounds pushed their way in. Six of the ugly beasties fought their way in and halted in confusion when there was no sign of anyone but Harry there. Apparently because they hadn't been sicced on Harry they weren't going to maul him. One caught a scent trailing toward the hallway with the stairs and Harry knew it was now or never. He pushed his thumb firmly against the button Jo had been holding earlier and watched as the buckets around him ignited hurling salt, fire, and iron in all directions. He didn't wait around to watch the whole show. The blast had damaged several of the outer walls and he wasn't sure how stable the building was, best not to wait around and see if it would collapse on top of him. Having identified Ellen's location he tried to apparate there to no avail. He huffed moving toward the stairs. "Apparition wards again?" he asked no one. He really needed to find a way to cancel those out.

He climbed the stairs as quickly as he could while still keeping an eye out for any falling debris large enough to make it through his protection spells. He made it to the roof with no incident and moved in the direction he could sense Ellen and Jo had moved. There was sizable gap between the roof he stood on and the next on over, but he could feel Ellen's energy coming from not too far ahead in that direction. She was perhaps another building over at most, but how had she crossed, especially with an unconscious girl in her arms. Harry glanced down at the alley below. What looked like a metal grate was warped and broken on the ground and Harry realized it must have been a sort of bridge between the two roofs at one point and the explosion must have shaken it loose.

With a spark of irritation he backed up and then sprinted to the side of the store pushing off of the edge as hard as he could. He landed easily on the next roof. It had been a while since he'd jumped like that. You rarely found the need to when you could apparate.

He moved to opposite edge of the roof where he could feel Ellen's energy and jumped again landing on the next building in the row. He quickly found an entrance to the building and let himself in. The halls here were narrow and winding which led him to believe he'd either entered a residence or a hotel. He found a door that was just slightly ajar and let himself in trying not to flinch when a gun fired right behind him. He turned deliberately slowly to face Ellen. "Do you mind _not_ shooting me?" he bit out harshly.

"I wasn't sure you'd make it. How did you escape the explosion?" she asked lowering the gun marginally.

"Oh there's more to me than meets the eye." Harry said moving over to Jo who was laying on a bed nearby. They were most certainly inside of a hotel. Ellen followed just behind him gun still clutched in too white fingers.

"Can you save her?" Ellen asked as Harry knelt beside the unconscious girl.

He glanced up. "I can try." He said with a shrug. "You want to tell me what the Winchesters are doing here? They always seem to be at the epicenter of every bad thing that happens don't they?"

Ellen clammed up.

Harry sighed removing Jo's bandages and placing his hands on her side gently, but it was still enough to elicit a gasp from the girl. She seemed to be slowly fighting her way back to the waking world. Ellen kneeled on her other side.

"Jo?" she asked watching her daughter's eyelids flutter.

"Mom?" Jo responded with an impossibly weak voice.

"Don't talk." Harry snapped. "You're moving your abdomen and it's not making this easier."

Jo only then seemed to realize that Harry had his hands quite literally inside of her. Like any person coming out of a deep sleep with a giant hole in their side, she panicked. "What's going on? Who are you? Where am I?"

Harry pulled his hands back for fear he'd do more damage that he'd then have to fix again. He sent the girl an annoyed glare. "You're injured. I'm Harry Potter. You're on a bed. Does that answer your questions princess? I haven't got all day you know."

Jo blinked uncomprehendingly.

"Jo, honey, calm down." Ellen interjected. "He's helping. I don't know why…but he's helping."

Harry rolled his eyes at the less than helpful explanation.

"The hell hounds." Jo said turning to her mother and placing a hand to her side with a grimace. She'd obviously pieced together that if they were still alive they hadn't triggered the bomb that was supposed to kill the hell hounds or at least buy the Winchesters some time.

"Taken care of." Harry said finally putting his hand back on her and forcing her to lay still. "Now sit still or this is going to take forever."

He put one hand over the wound, the other set about exploring inside delicately. It was obvious from the look on Jo's face that it wasn't a pleasant experience for her. Every once in a while he'd send a burst of magic through his fingers and into something he was touching causing some cells to fuse together and others to grow from seemingly nothing. Then, after several minutes he withdrew his hand and placed both on the outside channeling energy into the skin so that it would mend. Unfortunately the quick heal would leave a significant scar, but he was sure the girl wasn't vain enough to complain. She had the aura of a hunter after all.

"Done." He said removing his hands and wiping the slight sweat from his brow with his upper sleeve. His hands were blood soaked.

Jo's fingers explored the new skin with obvious awe. She sat up slowly and it obviously took quite a bit of effort on her part for she wobbled afterward. Ellen placed a hand on her shoulder steadying her. "How did you do that?" she asked fingers still poking and prodding where there'd recently been a gaping hole.

"Magic." He said wiggling his fingers in a sarcastic manner. "And I'd be careful about how you move. It's not completely healed. I've only fixed it to the point that you're not on the brink of death. You're welcome by the way." He said turning to the window and frowning. The sun was on the verge of setting now.

Jo smiled a bit behind him. Something about his bluntness lightened the situation a bit. "What are you looking at?" she asked, curious about his sudden distraction.

His eyes flicked to her momentarily before returning to the window. "The reapers are moving." He said simply.

Ellen's eyes widened marginally. "You can see them?"

"Obviously." Harry said with a frown.

"So you say you're not a demon." Ellen said with a frown, she felt the urge to move in front of Jo, protect her, but the man had just saved Jo's life. There wouldn't be much sense in taking her life now. "What are you then?"

Harry shot her a glare. "I show up and save your daughter's life and all I get is suspicion and never ending questions? A bit of gratitude and information would be appreciated Mrs. Harvelle."

"What do you want to know?" Jo cut in eying Harry speculatively.

Harry glanced first at her and then at a door to her right. He moved for the door. "I want to know why you're all here. You and the Winchesters that is."

"Why would you want to know that?"she asked as a faucet turned on behind her.

The running water was all she could hear for a minute. Then it turned off and Harry reentered the room with a towel in hand dabbing off the water and left over blood. "Those idiots tend to walk into more trouble than I thought humanly possible." He said tossing the towel aside. "Let's just say I have reasons for not wanting Lucifer to get his hands on Sam, and right now as far as I can tell he's given an invitation to the devil."

Jo frowned weighing options in her head while Ellen just surveyed Harry with no small amount of suspicion. "They went to kill him."

Harry blinked taken aback.

"Jo!" Ellen reprimanded clearly not liking that Jo had said something.

"Kill him how?" Harry asked confused. "There aren't a lot of things that can kill Lucifer. Trust me on that one, I've tried."

"You've tried to kill the devil?" Jo asked disbelievingly.

Harry shrugged. "He and I never saw eye to eye."

Jo took the explanation for what it was, a subtle diversion in topic. "The colt." She said finally. "They're using the colt."

Ellen frowned but didn't say anything this time. Harry hadn't gone running off to warn the devil yet, and that was a good sign. She was just hoping that they hadn't put their faith in the wrong person again.

Harry froze at Jo's words. "The colt?" he repeated rigidly.

Jo nodded.

He took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully. "Idiots. The colt won't work."

"But the colt can kill anything!" Jo insisted. "It's in the lore!"

"Lore can be wrong!" Harry snapped back. "The colt won't work! It wasn't designed to kill him. There are very few things that gun can't kill and he just happens to be one of them." Harry rubbed his temples where a massive headache was making itself known. "This is bad. Very bad. Sam is here isn't he?" He paused just long enough to get a reluctant nod from Jo. "He's walking straight into a trap with confidence. He's going to get himself killed…or worse."

"Glad to see you've got faith in the boys." Ellen said sarcastically.

"If you actually knew the tally on how many times they've been killed in their lives you might reconsider that statement." Harry bit back with a scowl. "I have no idea what kept them alive before all of this stuff started going down. Because right now they're living on borrowed favors from whichever team is rooting for them."

Both women looked a bit frazzled at the casual mention of Dean and Sam's countless deaths. Ellen snapped out of it first. "Well, if the colt doesn't work we've got to get to the boys and warn them." She said standing. "They're walking to their deaths otherwise."

Harry glanced away from the window to examine Jo. "I doubt she'd get far on that journey."

"I thought you said you'd healed her." Ellen said defensively moving back to Jo's side.

"To an extent, yes." Harry agreed. "But if she over exerts herself, and a rendezvous with the devil will usually do the trick, she will reopen everything I repaired. Then she'll be back in exactly the same spot, and trust me when I say no human doctor could fix what I had to fix. Have you ever seen a ruptured lower intestine. Not pleasant I assure you."

"How delicate is it?" Jo asked prodding her side again experimentally.

"Think of it like the new skin that begins to grow over a surgery incision. It's stronger than it looks, but the right amount of pressure will tear it. And it's not just your surface skin, every organ that was damaged is like that right now."

"Then you have to go." Jo said looking at her mother.

"I'm not leaving you!" Ellen objected.

"Mom, please. I'll be fine. Sam and Dean need you right now."

Ellen looked desperately between the door and Jo. Eventually she stopped and her shoulders sagged. She shook her head. "I can't Jo. Sam and Dean have each other. You need me."

Jo opened her mouth to argue.

"This is touching. Really. But I'm off." Harry said making for the door before stopping abruptly and turning towards the window. "Did you…hear that?"

The Harvelles shared a look. "No." Jo answered, unsure.

"Oh that's not good." Harry said shaking his head and only serving to confuse the women further. Then he doubled over with a gasp.

Jo went to move forward only to realize she didn't have the energy. She hit the floor like a sack of potatoes all tangled limbs and groans. Ellen rushed to her side, but she pushed her mother back. "What's wrong?" Jo asked finally righting herself.

Harry glanced up. "Get out of Carthage. Don't wait for the Winchesters." He said grimacing and meeting her eyes. "Go. Now."

And then he was simply gone, leaving Ellen and Jo in the room alone. Ellen hesitated for only a moment before grabbing Jo and hoisting her to her feet. "Let's go."

Jo hobbled with her mother to the stairs and from there they found the front door. Ellen made to pull Jo in the direction of their truck but Jo hesitated. "What about them?"

"Who?" Ellen asked forcing her daughter to move again.

"Sam, and Dean…and that Harry guy." Jo supplied panting. "They could be in trouble."

Ellen was frowning and Jo just noticed the tears running down her cheeks. "Not now Jo. We can't go back now. We've got to believe that those boys can take care of themselves."

"But you can help them!" Jo said in shock.

"I'm not leaving you Jo."Ellen said with finality. "I won't."

"But mo-"

"You listen to me Joanna Beth Harvelle!" Ellen said stopping and turning Jo so they were facing, but keeping her hands on the girl's shoulders lest she start to topple. "I care what happens to those boys! But right now you're hurt, and you need me more! I won't see you die! I almost lost you once! Don't ask me to do it again!"

She hugged Jo tight to her, and Jo returned the grasp. They stood like that for a moment longer, until Ellen pulled back and then they continued on their way. Jo still had misgivings, but she knew she couldn't ask her mother to leave her no matter the danger that put the others in. To be perfectly honest she was somewhat relieved her mother wouldn't be going head to head with Lucifer.

* * *

"Hey!" Sam shouted drawing Lucifer's attention from the hole he had slowly been filling. "You wanted to see me?"

"Oh Sam, you don't need that. I'd never hurt you. Not really." Lucifer said gesturing to the gun Sam was holding.

"Yeah? Well I'd hurt you!" Dean said standing suddenly from where he had snuck closer to the devil. He pointed the colt directly in the center of Lucifer's forehead. "So suck it!"

The colt's retort filled the air and Lucifer collapsed motionless. Sam took a hopeful step forward, but Lucifer shifted then and Sam's expression mirrored Dean's of disbelief and horror.

"Owww…" Lucifer said pushing himself up and rubbing the mark left by the bullet. "Where did you get that?"

Not waiting for an answer Lucifer punched Dean, launching him into a nearby tree. Sam watched his brother land before refocusing a wary gaze on the angel in front of him.

"Now, where were we?"Lucifer said holding up a hand. "Ah, right. The colt. Don't feel too bad Sam. There are only six things in all of creation that gun can't kill and I happen to be one of them."

Sam winced shooting a glance over to Dean who was unmoving.

"But if you'll give me a minute I'm almost done." Lucifer said turning back to the hole and tossing a bit more of the piled dirt into it.

Sam rushed to Dean's side the moment Lucifer's eyes had left him. He was grateful to feel a pulse.

"You know, I don't suppose you'd just say yes here and now?" Lucifer said bringing attention back to where he was leaning against his shovel. "End this whole tiresome discussion? That's crazy, right?"

Sam stood up scowling. "It's never gonna happen!"

"Oh, I don't know, Sam." Lucifer countered returning to his hole. "I think it will. I think it'll happen soon. Within six months. And I think it'll happen in Detroit."

"You listen to me, you son of a bitch. I'm gonna kill you myself, you understand me? I'm going to rip your heart out!"

"That's good, Sam. You keep fanning that fire in your belly. All that pent-up rage, I'm gonna need it."

Sam took a startled step back.

Lucifer stopped again. This time he seemed a bit distracted. Head tilting to the side almost in a curious manner.

Sam glanced around at all the men that stood staring blankly ahead of themselves. They hadn't moved through the whole ordeal. "What did you do? What did you do to this town?"

Lucifer didn't reply for a minute too focused on whatever had caught his attention. "I've been very generous with this town. One demon for every able bodied man."

"And the rest of them?"

Lucifer paused again. "In there."

Sam looked completely horrified.

"How…odd." Lucifer said turning his gaze in the direction of the town Sam and Dean had just come from.

"What is?" Sam asked.

Lucifer turned his gaze down a bit to catch Sam's. "You, I understand." he said catching Sam off guard. "You came to save people, but him…I thought he'd stay as far away as he could."

"Who?" Sam asked again completely lost. "What are you talking about?"

Lucifer smirked down at him suddenly. "Shall we invite him so you can see?" Lucifer asked retrieving an item from inside his shirt. To Sam it looked like a small vial containing a viscous liquid. Lucifer poured a small amount of it out onto the ground in a circle, recited a few words too low for Sam to hear, and then smiled viciously as a ripple seemed to flow through the air.

It was like a sonic boom, and when it hit Sam he nearly lost his footing. When he glanced back up another man knelt where the circle had been. "Harry?" he asked disbelievingly.

Harry lifted his head at the sound of his name and blinked with a groan. "That's a very unpleasant way to travel."

"Sorry about that. I wasn't sure how else to get you to join the party." Lucifer quipped unhelpfully.

Harry head snapped to him and his eyes shot wide. "The man from the dream…" he murmured quietly. Then he seemed to grasp something. "Lucifer."

"Glad you could join us." Lucifer said with a smile.

Harry made to stand only to find himself held fast to the ground. "What have you done?"

"Oh just a little something I thought up since the last time I saw you. Lots of time to think in hell, you know." Lucifer said smugly.

"When I get out of this I'll tear you limb from limb!" Harry snarled and lightning struck all across the field they were in.

"Temper, temper." Lucifer chided like he was talking to a small child.

"What have you done?" Harry's voice was deathly cold as he eyed the angel with hate.

"I thought it would be obvious to you." Lucifer supplied.

"Why would you kill all these people?" Sam butted in.

"I know, it's awful, but these horsemen are so demanding. So it was women and children first. I know what you must think of me, Sam. But I have to do this. I have to. You of all people should understand." Lucifer said putting a pitiful look on his face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked obviously confused and disheartened that the devil thought he could relate with him.

"I was a son. A brother, like you, a younger brother, and I had an older brother who I loved. Idolized, in fact. And one day I went to him and I begged him to stand with me, and Michael—Michael turned on me. Called me a freak, a monster. And then he beat me down…all because I was different. Because I had a mind of my own. Tell me something, Sam. Any of this sound familiar?"

Harry scoffed. "You're a petulant child who-" suddenly Harry choked on his own words. He glared up at Lucifer who didn't look particularly upset at the insult.

"Anyway. You'll have to excuse me. Midnight is calling and I have a ritual to finish. Don't go anywhere. Not that you could if you would."Sam retreated to Dean's side as Lucifer turned to the masses of demons spread out across the field. "Now repeat after me. We offer up our lives, blood, souls-"

The demons mimicked his words in unison.

"To complete this tribute."

Again the demons mimicked him, and then they began to fall as bright lights flashed signifying true demon death. Harry tried again to insult the fallen angel but found his tongue tied still.

"What? They're just demons." Lucifer said turning to the Winchesters. It seemed Dean had finally rejoined the world of the living.

Lucifer turned to the hole as a storm began to pick up above their heads. Unable to physically speak Harry jerked his head in Sam's direction catching the tall man's attention. He mouthed the word 'run' as he pressed down on the button on his right sleeve. He saw a flash of tan as he turned back to Lucifer.

"Oh, hello, Death."

Harry's eyes widened. '_Not good, not good, not good!_' he screamed mentally. To his immense relief the cavalry decided to show up at that moment. Gabriel grabbed his shirt with glance shot to his brother who was little more than steps away and they were gone.

Harry opened his mouth in not so silent screams. Leaving the circle that had bound him, even with the Angel's teleporting methods it was extremely painful. He felt like he was leaving a kidney behind. Who knows, maybe he was leaving a kidney behind. Magic was unpredictable like that.

Gabriel didn't take them far. He obviously realized something was wrong, and his teleporting skills seemed to be having interference similar to Harry's earlier problems as it was. They crashed landed on a highway a few miles outside of Carthage, and 'crash landed' was putting it gently. Harry was sure he knew what road kill felt like.

From their vantage point they could see the eye of the storm where no doubt Lucifer stood with Death himself. They had escaped not a moment too soon. Harry wasn't too keen of facing Death just yet. Even with the pain still lancing through his body Harry heaved a sigh of relief to be away. That is, until the car hit him.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Not too hard to guess who's in the car all things considered.**

**A lot of people were wondering if I'd save the Harvelles. Answer: Yes. XD**

**Now, reasons he saved the Harvelles. They do exist. No I've not explained them yet. They should become pretty obvious next chapter but if you're confused about it after next chapter let me know and I'll certainly tell you. ^^**

**Stuff starts to get real serious next chapter. So look forward to that. Also some more appearances from the less used characters.**

**It's been awesome writing this story so far and I hope you guys are enjoying it as much as I am. Thanks again for reading, reviewing and other such awesome actions. The next chapter won't be up until after the 2****nd**** of April since I'll be out of town doing stuff for the next week or so. 'Til next time!**

**~Kanathia**


	13. Ch 12: Daemones Autem Venire Vocans

**This chapter almost seemed to write itself near the end. I was having far too much fun tormenting Castiel. Which is odd because I do like his character. **

**Episodes: None this time.**

* * *

The car nearly rolled over as it hit the figure laying in the road at high speed. Ellen slammed on the brakes as Jo screamed out some choice profanity both in surprise and pain. Ellen took a ragged breath as the car screeched to a stop some distance from whatever they'd hit. She shared a look with Jo who nodded. "Stay here." Ellen said popping open her door hesitantly and grabbing her shotgun.

"It's not like I have much choice." Jo replied with an indignant frown.

Ellen sent her one last warning glare before moving away. As she moved around the edge of the car and realized it was a human lying in the middle of the road she quickened her pace warily. She wanted to help whomever she had hit, but considering ninety nine percent of the town had disappeared without a trace, suddenly finding a human seemed a bit too fortuitous and oddly timed to be trusted.

She bent down, gun still pointed, and used the barrel to roll the man over. She nearly jumped in surprise when a hand was suddenly on her shoulder. Instead she swung around leveling the shotgun at the second man's chest. He held up his hands with a cocky smile.

"Alright Annie Oakley cool it with the gun." He said obviously not too worried that she'd shoot if he was making jokes. "I was just going to tell you it might be best to move back a bit. He's probably not going to be too happy with you for hitting him with your car."

Ellen turned back to the injured man while trying to keep the other in her field of vision. She was surprised to find the man who'd helped her daughter laying there. She'd hit the man who'd saved her daughter's life with a car. She'd never hoped he was a demon more. At least then she'd feel justified in having done it.

He was breathing. That much was obvious from disrhythmic rise and fall of his chest, but he didn't seem to be in a good way. Understandable considering he'd just been hit by a car. Just then his eyes opened quite quickly startling Ellen from her crouch and making her fall on her backside.

He groaned moving to lift his arm only to hiss in pain. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck. What happened?" he said rolling a bit so he was fully on his back and his other, obviously less injured arm, was free to raise to his face.

"Funny you should mention that." The man behind Ellen said with a snort.

Harry examined the man with a frown. Though it was hard to tell he was making the expression at all considering his entire face was a mesh of blood and asphalt. He was only barely recognizable to Ellen and it was a wonder he was talking.

The man behind Ellen whistled lowly. "Quite a number was done on your face. You're going to be picking out black top for weeks. Just goes to show humans invent the most troublesome things." He finished with a grin, but Ellen was too focused on his word choice.

She resituated her gun with it once again aimed at his chest. "You said human like you aren't one." She said finger itching to pull the trigger.

"Well I'm not." The man answered with a shrug. He held out his hand. "Loki, god of mischief at your service."

"That's his favorite persona at least." Harry said with a huff. "Now is someone going to tell me why I'm lying in the middle of the road covered in wounds? Or do I need to get more creative in my questioning tactics?"

"Oh don't let him do that." Loki said looking mock fearful. "He means he'll start zapping you until you answer him."

Apparently Loki wasn't lying as he jolted right then as if shocked by some invisible force. He gave an indignant huff and scowled at Harry who was moving his less injured arm around the mangled one and pushing bones back into place.

Ellen still hadn't lowered the gun. She'd heard of the trickster standing in front of her from the Winchesters. Apparently he was a hard one to kill

"Mrs. Harvelle, I'm still waiting on an answer."

She glanced to him. "I hit you with my car."

Harry's eyes glinted with something unreadable as he glanced up. "On purpose?"

"No!" she admitted a bit quicker than she meant to. "You appeared in the middle of the road."

Harry swung a glare to Loki who immediately raised his hands in a placating manner. "Hey, it's not my fault Lucy had wards even for angels. I could only go so far. Besides, you were screaming and there was all that imminent death stuff. Is it any wonder I wasn't showing my A game out there?"

Harry rolled his eyes instead of responding, he sent another jolt through the angel just out of sheer annoyance. Loki jumped at the sudden shock.

"Was that necessary?" he asked almost pouting mostly because he hadn't been the one to actually injure Harry and yet he was the one receiving the punishment.

"Quite." Harry assured him before turning to Ellen. "I take it you're going back to the wherever the Winchesters are."

Ellen hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Fantastic. I'll go with you." He said as if his decision absolved the matter.

Ellen blinked. "What makes you think you're invited?"

"I don't much care for invitation Mrs. Harvelle. I've always enjoyed being the gate crasher."

"That's his nice way of saying he's going whether you want him there or not." Loki supplied with a grin.

Ellen hesitated for a moment longer but relented with a sigh. "Fine." She said standing. "But your friend is getting you to the car. Try not to bleed all over the seat."

"I wouldn't be bleeding at all if someone hadn't hit me with a car." He called in reminder before turning to Loki. The angel moved forward, reluctantly hoisting him up again and moving toward the car.

"I can't stay." He reminded Harry as they approached the vehicle.

Harry nodded. He knew Gabriel was busy working on several things, but most importantly he was still trying to stay off of heaven's radar and hanging out with the Winchesters wasn't a good way to do that. "Agh, I think my spinal cord is damaged." He said as one of his legs spasmed. "I hate repairing that. Just get me in the back seat and I'll take care of the rest Gabriel. I'm going to have to sleep for ages to get everything back to normal."

Loki smirked popping open the back door and helping Harry slide into the seat where he promptly flopped over ungracefully. Loki slammed the door and saluted before simply disappearing.

Ellen and Jo both glanced back at Harry's prone form intent on saying something, but it was obvious that the man had already fallen asleep.

"Should he really sleep?" Jo asked watching him. "What if he has some sort of brain injury and goes into a coma?"

Ellen shrugged. "I'm sure he knows what's best for him." She said unsurely starting the car. "We've got a long drive ahead of us. Maybe he'll magically have pulled himself back together by the time we get to Bobby's."

* * *

Eight and a half hours, and two stops later found Ellen entering the driveway to Bobby's scrap yard. She smiled at the crunch of rock under her wheels. Jo stirred in her seat obviously noting the change in the driving speed. Ellen glanced in the rear view mirror but Harry was still fast asleep, or at least he appeared to be so. His arm looked better though, and she supposed that was a good sign. In front of her she could just make out the Impala around the final bend in the driveway. She was sure the boys and Bobby had long since heard their approach.

She pulled in behind the Impala. A groan issued from the back seat as she killed the engine, but Harry remained rolled on his side facing the seat. Ellen opened her door as Jo groggily undid her seatbelt. She made her way around to the passenger side as the screen door slapped shut somewhere behind her signifying the presence of at least Bobby on the porch.

When she turned it was to see Sam and Bobby both watching her with guarded optimism in their eyes. When the front door opened and Jo got out Ellen wasn't prepared to see Sam pull a gun, though some part of her mind reasoned that she should have been. She hastily stepped in front of her daughter as the two hunters descended on them.

"Ellen. Jo." Sam said nodding in each of their directions.

"Sam." Ellen replied before reaching around to steady Jo who was looking more than a little wobbly on her feet. In fact she looked ready to topple and she was beyond pale. It was frightening to Ellen. She wanted to shake Harry awake in the back seat and make sure Jo hadn't reopened a wound or something.

Bobby held out a flask and Ellen knew it was filled with holy water. She grabbed it and quickly unscrewed the top downing a sizable portion before handing it in Jo's direction where it was promptly snatched from her hand not by Jo, but by Harry. She hadn't even heard the car door open.

Harry finished off the small flask and then grimaced. "Distilled water? Oh that's vile." He said tossing the flask back in a surprised Bobby's direction. "You keep distilled water in a flask? I was expecting cheap alcohol."

The entire group seemed a bit confused by his sudden appearance.

"It's holy water." Jo finally piped up.

Harry nodded sagely; a motion that was made gruesome by his still slightly disfigured face. "All the more reason you shouldn't drink it then. Your wounds are still covered in hell hound slobber, it won't react well with holy water."

"What's going on?" Sam asked holding his gun at the ready, but unsure who he should be aiming it at. "Last we saw you…"

Harry wasn't sure if Sam was talking to him or the Harvelle's because his eyes were looking anywhere but their faces. Either way he was sure Sam wasn't remembering anything particularly good.

"You two look like hell." Bobby said nodding in Harry and Jo's direction.

"Yes, well, I've only just finished repairing my two shattered limbs and a severely damaged spinal cord. They seemed a little more important than my face." Harry said running his fingers lightly over the marred skin and reveling in the revolted look on Sam's face when a small piece of gravel dislodged itself and fell. "Anyway, your friends are alive. In my personal experience celebrations usually include fewer guns and more booze."

"They're just being cautious." Ellen said with a frown.

"I vouch for the young lady's being human." Harry said moving past a stunned Sam. "Can't say I vouch for your driving skills though. They could use some work. Now then why don't we retreat to some place where the young Miss Harvelle can rest? I don't intend to heal her twice so I'd take care of her while you can."

They all stood there for a moment in awkward silence as Harry continued moving toward the house unhindered. Then Bobby waved them forward and Sam moved to help Ellen with Jo. Together the trio hobbled up the stairs following Bobby's wheeling form in the house. The man was trying to figure out where Harry had disappeared to once he'd entered the shabby house.

They found him in Bobby's office casually tossing aside a book and reading the title of a second. Somehow he hadn't managed to wake up Dean who was sleeping on the couch on the other side of the room.

"What are you doing?" Bobby said snatching the book Harry was preparing to toss aside from his hand.

Harry glanced up. "They're all quite outdated. Some of them weren't even close to accurate when they _were_ relevant. I'm doing you a favor."

Bobby just glared.

"Why are you here?" Sam asked as he helped Ellen get Jo into Bobby's desk chair. "I understand why Jo and Ellen came, but why would you?"

Harry glanced between Sam and his brother who was beginning to stir. "I have a few questions that need answering, and unfortunately answer by proxy isn't going to cut it. So I made a house call."

By this point Dean had sat up on the couch and was eying the two women with disbelief. "Jo…Ellen?"

"Hey." Jo said weakly.

Dean looked caught between the decision to grab a gun or hug the girl.

"I don't mean to sound displeased, but you want to explain how you two are alive?" Bobby cut in obviously still not quite trusting their presence.

"Oh no, you're always a bundle of joy, you are." Harry said with a smile.

Bobby sent a short lived glare his way.

"It was just after Sam and Dean left. We heard a door open and we thought one of the hell hounds found a way in, but then he was there." Jo said nodding in Harry's direction. "He healed me some and then we moved and he healed me some more."

"We saw the explosion." Sam said obviously upset. "We thought…"

"I set it off after they were gone." Harry said picking some gravel from a wound on his lower arm and watching the skin heal smoothly when he focused a bit of energy on it. "You're welcome."

"Since when did you start performing acts of kindness?" Sam said somewhere between joking and distrust.

Harry's eyes flashed. "I can remedy the mistake if you'd prefer." He offered and a blazing ball of flame burst into life next to Harry's shoulder. "If ever there was a time to test my patience you're far from it Winchester."

Sam held up his hands in surrender and the tenseness in Dean's shoulders lessened a bit when the flames died off. "When I saw you in the field…" Dean piped up. "You weren't injured. What happened?"

"Mrs. Harvelle has an odd way of repaying favors." Harry offered.

Jo snorted gaining curious glances from Dean, Bobby, and Sam. "Mom hit him with the car."

Dean smirked. "Great cambion and your weakness is cars?"

"Weakness implies there's a permanent ramification of coming into contact with it. Considering that I'm walking around less than a day afterwards it's hardly a decent weakness." Harry quipped right back.

"So what did you want to ask about?" Bobby interrupted trying to get the conversation back on track so it could be over with and they could be rid of the snarky British guy who was currently shedding bloody gravel throughout his house.

"Oh several things come to mind." Harry said less focused on them and more on the rocks now, but he sharply glanced up directly at Sam as he started his next sentence. "Like for one why were you standing ten feet from the guy who wants to use you as a vessel? It seems a bit ill advised if you _want_ to keep control of your body."

He tried not to laugh at their shocked expressions. "You-"

"Knew? Yes. Probably longer than you yourself did." Harry said caustically. "You Winchesters are abnormally slow on the uptake. Still, my knowledge of the situation still hasn't afforded me with a reason for your presence there. I understand you and your brother had some half baked plan to use the colt to off Lucifer, but it's not like you needed to be there for that. Dean could have handled it. Or better yet, you could have just asked me if the bloody gun worked on Lucifer. Fact checking is essential when you want to off the devil, and I did have the gun in my possession for quite a fair amount of time."

"I couldn't let Dean do it alone…" Sam trailed off with his half hearted attempt to defend his reasoning.

"Why?" Harry said matter-of-factly. "Even if Lucifer had seen fit to smite him where he stood your other angel pals would have just brought him back. I've seen it happen several times now."

"Why are you so interested in Sam's welfare suddenly?" Bobby cut in.

Harry stopped his rambling and turned an indignant gaze on the scruffy man. "Welfare?" he snorted. "Hardly. His permanent death would actually bring me quite a bit of peace of mind…presuming Lucifer doesn't have a back up vessel." The whole room seemed to tense at this announcement. "Alas, any attempt to kill Sammy here seems to be in vain, and Lucifer seems to think he'll give in and join the dark side any second. Putting Sam in front of Lucifer where he's subject to the mental assault of the guy who can get into _my_ mind doesn't seem like a bright idea. Lucifer's good with mind games and all he has to do is get Sam to say yes. It's not like it'd be too difficult to do if he really put his mind to it, and I don't know about you but watching the whole world get torn apart by battling angels is something I'd like to postpone in my event planner."

Harry huffed as he finished the statement. He hated explaining stuff that he thought should be plainly obvious to anyone with half a brain cell.

Dean blinked a few times before conceding. "Good point." He shrugged at Sam's scathing scowl.

"But I do have other points to make. I didn't come here just to harp on about Sam's terrible decision making. Even if he does make a fair number of bad decisions."

A smirk was threatening to show on Dean's face.

"Don't get smug." Harry said leveling a stare at the man. "You make a fair share of your own."

Dean opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by Bobby clearing his throat and sending a glare his way, obviously having known he would respond to such an obvious barb.

"It's come to my attention that there are two noticeable fronts to this war; the angels, and the demons." Harry said leaning back against Bobby's desk. "Neither of those appeal to me. Personally I find both sides to be rather…dickish. On a less personal note, both of them seem to be gunning for a very similar goal when it comes right down to it. They both want Lucifer and Michael to battle. They want war and destruction…" He let that sink in for a moment.

"And which side did you choose?"

Harry's eyes flicked over to the rooms newest addition. Castiel stood near the back of the room far removed from the group. His appearance came as no real surprise to Harry. He had been somewhat expecting the angel to show up. He knew Castiel kept tabs on the Winchesters after all. The others jolted at his sudden speaking putting an amused smirk on Harry's face.

"You would not have brought it up unless you had chosen a side. Did my brothers offer you salvation for your help?"

Harry was caught somewhere between amusement and annoyance. "No, they're a bit too high and mighty to do that aren't they?"

"Then was it a demon?" Sam cut in. "You made a deal with a demon?"

"No." Harry said eyes focusing on the tall man. "You've done enough demon trusting for all of us." The made Sam shut up quick, and strangely enough Dean didn't jump in to defend his brother either. Trouble in paradise. "No, I haven't accepted a deal from either side. I've always been a bit of a rebel anyway. When they tell me I can only have a peanut butter sandwich or a jelly sandwich for lunch I make lasagna."

"So what you're saying without all the similes is…?" Bobby said gruffly.

"Metaphor, Mr. Singer, it was a metaphor. What I'm saying is that I'm making my own side; my own front to this war. If you don't like the status quo, change it; and that's what I'm doing. From the looks of it…" Harry paused to survey the people gathered before him. "That seems to be what you're trying to do as well."

Harry was immensely amused by the shifting that rippled through the room. Only Castiel seemed to hold his place never wavering. Instead the angel seemed to be appraising Harry. Which led said man to believe Castiel was the only one to catch on to Harry's less than subtle suggestion.

"So…what?" Dean spoke up again. "You're taking out the competition and we're the weakest so you came here first?"

Harry couldn't help the roll of his eyes. "No, you moron. I'm suggesting an alliance…of sorts. Quid pro quo. You don't want the world to end yet. I don't want the world to end yet. It's a win, win situation, and you need allies."

"And one arrogant British half angel is going to solve all our problems?" Sam bit out.

There was a beat of silence that rang through the room heavily. In that moment Sam realized he'd just revealed that they knew more about Harry than Harry thought they did.

A predatory smile crept its way onto Harry's face. "Even if I were the only player on my team, and I'm not mind you, I'd still be more than enough to wipe out every person in this room Mr. Winchester. I think you need me more than I need you. Your comment does spark some curious questions though."

"He's right." Castiel cut in and Harry narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "We do need him. Now that we know the colt doesn't work we'll need all the help we can get."

"Yes, listen to your team mascot. He seems fairly logical."

"Alright so say we teamed up. What exactly are you offering from your end? And what do you want from us?" Ellen cut in finally speaking up.

Harry turned his sight on her flicking his eyes down to Jo who was obviously barely conscious at this point. "On my end you've got power. More than you can comprehend." Harry said with a smile. "And information. If you actually take the time to ask instead of jumping head first into dangerous situations uninformed."

Sam's gaze notably turned away at this point. Harry leaned forward bringing his hands up so they were resting under his chin.

"From you I'm not really expecting much. Just that the Winchesters continue to say 'no' to their prospective possessors. Oh, and that ring Sam promised me a while back. You hadn't forgotten about it Sammy had you?" Harry said grinning widely. "Now that dear old Lucifer has risen Death from his sleep you should be able to retrieve that whenever you get the urge to do something stupid. I daresay you do a lot of stupid things already, what's one more?"

"What ring is he talking about?" Bobby asked turning to the brothers and eying them angrily.

"Oh just a trinket Mr. Singer." Harry said nonchalantly.

"Death's ring?" Castiel spoke up obviously confused. He was shooting looks between Sam, Dean, and Harry. "Why would you need Death's ring?"

"I don't _need_ Death's ring." Harry said with a roll of his eyes. "It's more of a want. It's hardly the most important topic right now either. I think it would be far more beneficial to talk about why you trusted Crowley of all demons."

"You knew Crowley had the colt?" Sam asked suddenly more interested than he was embarrassed.

"Of course I knew Crowley had the colt." Harry said rolling his eyes again. "I _am_ the one who gave it to him."

"You gave a demon one of the only weapons we have that kills demons?" Dean asked outraged.

"Not without a price." Harry said with a shrug. "He had 'acquired' several very dangerous artifacts that he was willing to hand over for the gun. The gun had little use to me. Besides, he apparently only wanted it to give it to you. You've all got your souls so you didn't trade for it. What's there to complain about?" Harry tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I am curious if he knew it wouldn't work or if he really thought Lucifer was that easy to put out of commission."

"Well don't let us interrupt your daydreaming." Bobby replied sarcastic as usual.

Harry turned a grin on the man. "So, putting all that aside, do we have a deal?"

"I don't make deals."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Allow me to rephrase, have we reached an agreement? Shall we join into a mutually beneficial partnership? Will we be joining forces? Need I go on?"

The whole room sat in silence obviously mentally weighing the pros and cons of joining the ambiguous man in front of them. Well, all except Jo who'd obviously fallen asleep at some point during the laborious talk.

Ellen was the first to move surprising even Harry. "Well I don't know about you boys, but he saved Jo and that's enough for me." She said nodding in Harry's direction.

Harry tilted his head in acceptance of the gesture but his eyes remained focused on the four men who were all sharing glances. He could take or leave anyone else's agreement to join sides. The only ones he really needed assurance from were the Winchesters. Finally Bobby spoke. "Alright. For now we help each other." He conceded. "But if you do something suspicious or-"

"Please, do try not to insult me." Harry said with a half frown. "I find it rather annoying. Now that that's se-"

Harry stopped mid sentence the slightly frown turning downward into a scowl directed at nothing in particular in the room. The others shared looks of confusion.

"Oh, that's not good at all." Harry muttered just as a rush of air swept through the room accompanied by the sound of rushing wings.

"Harry."

Harry turned to the frantic angel.

"Anna?" Castiel said with confusion. He was the only one in the room besides Harry who would've been able to recognize her at that moment with her new vessel.

"Anna?" Dean mimicked. "How is that Anna?"

"She's taken a new vessel." Castiel supplied.

"I felt the ward flare. What's going on?" Harry asked deadly serious.

"Demons." Anna supplied nervously. "A lot of them."

"I take it they haven't actually found them yet since you're here."

Anna shook her head, but she was obviously nervous.

"Good. Go back. Make sure they stay inside the house until you get my signal. The warding sigils should be enough." Harry said turning and picking up random objects from Bobby's desk and then setting them back down much to everyone's confusion. "Two minutes, Anna, kitchen table. Don't get spotted."

Anna nodded and with another whoosh of air she was gone.

"What's going on?" Sam asked eying the coffee mug Harry had just emptied on the floor. Sam was sure Bobby would be complaining if he wasn't surprised by the sudden act itself.

"This'll do for now." Harry said turning the mug over in his hand and closing his eyes. The mug flashed brightly for a moment before returning to its dull chipped white self. With a snap of his fingers Harry made the thing disappear.

Sam stepped forward putting a hand on Harry's shoulder and forcing the man to look up at him even if it was in annoyance. "You want us to be a team right? Then tell us what is going on."

Harry grabbed one of Sam's fingers and lifted the hand off his shoulder with distaste as if he were holding a used tissue someone had tossed on him. "Several demons have just triggered the wards I've placed around the residence of one Jesse Miller. I'm rectifying the situation."

"What was that thing you just did with my mug?" Bobby asked, eyes flicking between Harry and the alcohol that had been residing in said mug.

"I turned it into a portkey. We'll talk later. Right now I have to stop Lucifer's cronies from getting their hands on one of the most powerful weapons he could possess. Ciao." Harry had barely gotten the last word out before he disappeared leaving the room one person shorter and full of questions.

"What the hell is a portkey?" Dean asked face scrunched in confusion.

"A transportation device used by Harry's people once upon a time."

"You! Feathers! With me...Now." Harry said in a huff reappearing and motioning for Castiel to move to his side. Castiel hesitated and apparently that wasn't the appropriate response as Harry snapped his fingers and suddenly Cas wasn't there anymore and when they turned to ask Harry why he'd teleported Cas away, or better yet where he'd sent him, Harry was gone as well.

"Fantastic!" Dean said throwing his hands in the air dramatically.

"What do we do now?" Sam asked frowning. His eyebrows dew together in thought.

"For one I say we find her a bed." Bobby said nodding in Jo's direction. Jo still looked unhealthily pale and she was slumped in her chair obviously unconscious. "My house is going to be full of invalids one of these days."

"Hey!" Dean protested from his spot on the couch where he'd been sleeping off the concussion Lucifer had given him. "Not funny!"

* * *

Castiel ungracefully stumbled a bit as he appeared in a remote field near Harry. He quickly righted himself as Harry turned on him.

"I had a feeling it was you running your mouth to the Winchesters." Harry bit out clearly annoyed.

"How did you…?"

"Just a little listening charm I invented for eaves dropping." Harry said eyes scanning back and forth across the empty field. "I attached it to one of the pencils on the desk." He stopped and turned a withering gaze on the angel. "And of course they got their information from you. You're the only one they know who would actually tell them anything. So tell me Feathers, how much _have_ you told them?"

The normally emotionless Castiel seemed more than a little nervous under Harry's piercing gaze. "Only basics." He said trying to dodge the question in a far too obvious way.

Fortunately for him a group of people chose that exact time to pop into being several feet from them. Harry's attention was immediately drawn to them ignoring Castiel who stood awkwardly by as Harry moved forward helping to hold up the obviously unconscious form of an older man.

"What happened? Were you spotted?" Harry immediately began.

"No, I don't think so." Anna supplied as they lowered the heavy man to the ground. "He was resisting coming so I had to knock him out. What's going on Harry, how did they find us?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not sure. There was no paper trail. I made sure of that."

Anna's eyes fell on Castiel and she stopped. "What's he doing here?"

"Now's not the time." Harry diverted eyes only for the three humans among them. "Castiel's as much an outcast from Heaven as you are these days Anna. Jesse, did you do anything that might have drawn attention? Even something small, if it was outside of the wards it could have been noticed."

Jesse started to shake his but stopped and seemed to actually think about the question. "I was running from some older kids and ended up on the roof at school."

Harry hesitated for a moment. "A kid after my own heart." He muttered. "That probably did it. The accidental magic is getting stronger then if it could get through the bracelet's wards without your meaning for it to." Harry was rambling to himself. "Alright, Anna, take them to Way station 3. It'll only be for two or three days." He interrupted when she opened her mouth to complain.

Harry pulled a small book from his inside pocket and flipped through the pages hastily. It was a tricky business hiding both Jesse and his parents. It would be much easier to hide just the boy. The demons and angels were looking for signs of a family moving into the area seemingly out of the blue and Harry couldn't make the entire town oblivious to their sudden arrival.

"Alright." He said snapping the book closed. "The wards should already be in place there. I'll work on a stronger bracelet. In the mean time, be careful. I'll tell you where you're moving when I see you." Harry snatched the fallen coffee mug from the stunned and obviously confused Mrs. Miller's hands. After applying a different location for the portkey to transport to he handed it to Anna. She nodded although she looked notably worried.

"Two days?" she asked moving toward Jesse and his parents.

"Two days." Harry agreed.

She nodded heaving the sleeping Mr. Miller off of the ground and having the other two touch the mug before she said determinedly. "Quidditch." And the lot of them were whipped from the field to their destination.

Harry let out a massive sigh. "Just one more stress to add to the list." He muttered turning to Castiel who was standing statue still where Harry had left him minutes earlier. "Where were we?"

Castiel blinked, eyes focusing on the man in front of him. "May I ask you a question?" Castiel asked. Harry wasn't sure if he was trying to stall or if he was just genuinely curious about whatever he wanted to ask.

"Shoot." Harry said indulging the angel. He'd get his answers soon enough anyway.

"Why does Lucifer frighten you?" Castiel's head tilted to the side slightly. "He cannot kill you to my knowledge."

"Death isn't the only thing to fear Castiel." Harry said seriously. "There are many things worse than death. The last time I saw Lucifer we didn't part on particularly good terms, and Lucifer desires power. He craves it. I have power. Possibly more than he does. And he's had centuries to think of ways to try to get that power from me. I don't want to find out what he's come up with, but I digress." Harry snapped his fingers taking great amusement when Castiel flinched. A chair popped into existence and Harry sat in it not bothering to summon one for Castiel. "We were discussing your apparent inability to keep your mouth shut." Harry crossed his legs and leaned back bringing his hands together in front of him almost as if contemplating the angel. "So tell me…specifically how much information does 'the basics' cover?"

Castiel seemed to think about what he should say. Harry figured he'd make a poor politician. His improvisation could use some work. "They know of your origins."

"They know of my 'origins'. Well that's answered all of my questions hasn't it?" Harry quipped. "I'm afraid I'm going to need you to stop beating around the bush. Or perhaps I should just ask more specific questions. Do they know who I am?"

Castiel hesitated. "I told them you were half angel, half human…"

"Well that's only moderately right, but you're not saying something. What is it?"

Castiel obviously didn't want to say, but Harry wasn't having any of that.

Staring directly into the angel's ice blue eyes Harry said strongly. "Tell me."

"They know you mastered death."

Harry blinked and a self deprecating smile worked its way onto his face. "Sure, if you want to call it that." His voice was dark. "And?"

"They know…you sacrificed yourself to save your people…" Castiel was obviously trying to shut himself up and failing.

Harry frowned. "That really wasn't your story to tell was it?"

"And they know…"

"Yes?"

Castiel tried to clench his teeth shut to keep the words from spilling forth, but he still ended up saying them. "They know your world was destroyed."

Harry's face was mostly neutral at this news and he let the spell fall from Castiel knowing that, that was the thing he'd tried to keep from saying this whole time. Castiel let out a gasp as he felt a jab of pain in his mind. "Do they know of the angels involvement in what happened?" Harry asked blandly.

Castiel shook his head just slightly one hand raised to his head.

"Do they know what happened after…?"

Again Castiel shook his head. Harry's eyes were focused so sharply on him he felt as if he were a bug pinned to the wall.

"Good." Harry said finally breaking a small modicum of the tension. "And it would be smart of you not to tell them any more than you have."

Castiel was silent for a moment wondering if the man was ordering him not to speak of it, or asking. "I do not think they would think less of you for what happened." He said honestly.

Harry met Castiel's eyes. "No, but I doubt they'd see your kind with much sympathy." He replied coolly. "And right now alienating you as an ally isn't something they can afford to do. Alas, logic isn't the strongest persuasion when it comes to the Winchesters' motivations."

Harry stood brushing down the front of his clothes to straighten any creases sitting might have given them. Castiel watched him warily.

"In the future it would probably be best to leave me to explain my own past. I don't take kindly to people prying into my business, and you should know that this," he gestured around himself. "Is a warning. You don't want to get on my bad side Castiel, but you're treading dangerous water right now. Next time I might not be as forgiving."

He snapped his fingers and suddenly Castiel wasn't in the field anymore. He was back at Bobby's and he had a terrible pain coming from his right arm. He staggered and hit the fridge trying to stay upright. The noise drew attention from Dean who'd been standing in the doorway talking.

"Cas!" he called running over and keeping Cas from falling. "What happened?" Sam was right behind his brother helping to get the angel to a chair.

"Harry." Castiel answered simply. "I don't think he was happy about me telling you some things."

Dean scowled at the reminder of the man who'd been there less than an hour ago. "So he…what exactly did he do?" he realized there wasn't any blood even though Castiel seemed to be in pain.

Castiel moved his arm which was already starting to heal. It seemed Harry had only severely bruised the muscle and bone. The arm was already mostly normal again. "It wasn't much compared to what he could have done." Castiel admitted.

"Why doesn't he want you to tell us about him?" Sam asked hovering unsurely.

Castiel spared him a glance. "He doesn't like his past to be known by everyone." He answered with a frown moving his shoulder and testing it before standing. "I need to go."

"Wait, Cas." Dean said stepping in front of him. "We need to know. Can we trust him?"

Castiel seemed to mull that question over for a moment. "As long as your goals are the same…yes." He answered truthfully before vanishing.

* * *

**For those curious, I do ship Megstiel. Not in this story per se, but in general. I cried at the end of Goodbye Stranger. :/**

**I have no idea why I wrote that. Enjoy that snippet into my life though XD**

**I've been getting a fair amount of questions. I love answering them. ^^**

**Right...I suppose I'll end the Author's note there to go watch some Doctor Who. 'Til next time!**

**~Kanathia**


	14. Ch 13: Dimicationes Dominandi

**A bit earlier than usual, but here you are. Enjoy. Don't get too angry with chapter, and don't worry. Harry shall be getting his payback eventually. Tenfold. Cheers.**

* * *

Harry put one hand to his pounding head. He'd spent far too many hours finding a way to increase the wards for Jesse's bracelet. They couldn't afford a repeat of last time and there was no telling how fast Jesse would be able to find a grip on his powers. Harry checked his watch. 1:00 pm. He needed to go to the station soon where the group would be waiting for him.

He eyed the nondescript brown bracelet in his hand wearily before slipping it into his pocket. With a blink he was standing in a completely different area. Around him a gentle breeze pushed at the fields several miles outside of La Crosse, Kansas. He was just outside of the building's wards, but something felt off.

Harry walked briskly toward the large 'abandoned' building that used to be a rather large granary which had then been converted into office space.

Quietly he slipped through a side door. He checked a few of the rooms he passed unsure where the group had decided to settle for the few days they were visiting. He'd just opened the door to the third room when he heard a shout from further in the building. Abandoning his search he darted as fast as he could in the direction he'd heard the shout issue from.

He slammed through the door at the end of the long hallway and found himself in the largest room of the place. He was now face to face with far more people than he had expected to be. His eyes darted around taking in everything in front of him in a matter of milliseconds. First they went to the precarious situation of those standing in front of him. Anna was being held to the ground, a knife raised high above her back obviously at ready to stab her, but her assailants had hesitated upon his entrance. Just a few feet away Jesse was being visibly restrained by two demons. How they had managed to restrain the kid Harry was unsure. Jesse's mother was being held by none other than Lucifer himself. And lastly the father seemed to be lying in a puddle of his own blood not far from where Harry had entered.

Harry flung out his hand and the three demons on top of Anna flew back. She pushed herself up slowly, obviously injured, but no longer in mortal peril. She nodded at him in thanks but had eyes only for Lucifer.

"How nice of you to join us Harry." Lucifer said cordial as ever.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "I'm sure." He said eyes darting between Jesse and Lucifer then back again. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just offering this young cambion here a bit of an ultimatum. You see when I told him he was made to fight on my side in this war he said he didn't have to. I found that funny. Don't you?" Lucifer asked with a smile.

Harry said nothing edging his way further into the room, closer to the others. "How did you find them?"

"Oh, it's funny you should ask actually." Lucifer said smile still permanently in place. "Did you know that Mr. Turner here," Lucifer nodded to the corpse by the door. "had a contract. Your wards are good. I'll give you that, but they don't trump a hell hound's nose when a contract is up."

Harry cursed mentally. How had he not noticed the man had made a demon deal? Still, it told him that the demons probably had no idea about Jesse's occasional magic slips. Which meant if he could get the kid away from here a second relocation would probably work much better than the first had. He'd cautiously made his way between where Anna was still kneeling and Jesse.

"I must say," Lucifer spoke again "I am curious how you convinced Anna here not to kill him. Most angels kill a cambion on sight. They consider them abominations of the highest order. I can't say I blame them. A mix of demon and human. Disgusting-"

"Save your speeches Lucifer." Harry spat growing to irritated to listen the angels trash talking. "You know they don't do anything for me."

If anything Lucifer's grin grew a little bit larger.

'_Jesse can you hear me?_' Harry sent across a mental link to the boy. He was relieved when he got a mental confirmation but the boy didn't show any outward sign of it. _'Good. When I get rid of the demons I want you to teleport to my office. Third cabinet behind the desk, open it. Go in, shut the door and push the yellow button on the inside. Don't come out. Either I or someone I trust will come for you. DON'T open the door yourself not even if someone asks you to.'_

Another hesitant mental confirmation. '_But my mom.'_

Lucifer was eying Harry speculatively. "Despite your…background…I've always found you interesting."

"I'm flattered." Harry said shooting a glare. '_Let me worry about her.'_ He thought with mild irritation. It was a delicate situation and he hoped the boy would just follow his instructions lest it become even trickier to get everyone out alive. '_How are they blocking your powers?'_

"You're referring to his human DNA." Anna spoke up.

'_The paper.' _Harry allowed his eyes to dart to the demon on Jesse's left that was holding a paper talisman to the boy's arm. It was an odd little thing, but it didn't contain any spell Harry was aware of. It must be a diversion. He darted another glance to the second demon quickly mentally cataloging everything the man had on him.

Lucifer turned his icy stare to Anna. "Of course I am." He said dispassionately. "It's unfortunate he was born half angel, half of that pathetic unfortunate race our father favors so much." Lucifer's eyes turned back to him mournful in a way. "You'd have made a beautiful angel. Instead our father cursed you to be an abomination."

"Abomination." Harry scoffed. "You sure know how to worm your way into someone's heart. Besides, I think our definition of abominations might be a little different."

Lucifer smiled obviously not catching the sarcasm. "You should join me Harry. Together there is no one who could stop us. Not even God himself. You could have everything."

Harry smiled and then flicked out his finger shattering a ring the demon on Jesse's right wore. He waved his hand and the demons flew backwards. Instantly Jesse was gone.

Harry turned to the boy's mother and snapped his fingers. She was gone too leaving just Harry, Anna, and a corpse within Lucifer's reach.

Harry's movements slowed as some unseen force worked against him. It felt very similar to the force he'd felt in Carthage days ago. He fought it earning himself strained muscles and nothing more.

He heard the short cry from Anna signifying she'd been recaptured. The two demons who'd been holding her before had resumed their duty.

"You let him get away." Lucifer's voice was cold and then there were twin cries of pain as he doubtless killed the demons on the spot.

Footsteps echoed through the large room as the angel walked slowly around to Harry's front. His face was measured. Gone was the mirth he'd shown seconds earlier. "You seem awfully determined to keep the cambion boy from me."

Harry snorted but said nothing eyes glaring back at the devil.

"He's not the only one you've warned away though." Lucifer said crossing his arms. "I hear you paid a little visit to the Winchesters after our last meeting."

"Sorry, there was a mix up, your invitation was sent to hell."

"You've been telling Sam not to say yes to me Harry."

"Your point?"

"Sam is my vessel Harry. Don't you know what that means? He was destined for this."

"Destined?" Harry snarled. "Destined to be forced out of his own mind? I've been there before Lucifer. Can you really blame for wanting to stop it happening to someone else? You disgust me."

Lucifer frowned. It was the first time Harry had really openly displayed his distaste. Lucifer nodded and Harry saw one of the demons lift a knife high above Anna's head obviously intending to end her life. She closed her eyes resigned, and Harry felt a spark of something inside his chest. Rebellion against the odds? Perhaps. Love? Definitely not. Hate seemed an adequate description.

Still, whatever emotion it might have been it fuelled his power. "No!" he yelled and flung a spell in the direction of the demons. They flew backwards and hit the walls of the place not moving, but the spell rebounded and struck him as well. Breathless, he barely kept his feet, sliding back several feet.

Lucifer caught his collar as he teetered on the spot unable to right himself while he remained under the hold of whatever it was Lucifer had done. Lucifer held a small vial in his hands showing it to Harry. There was a viscous green liquid inside that rolled from side to side slowly whenever Lucifer tilted it. "Do you know what this is?" he asked Harry still holding his shirt.

Harry just glared in response. He didn't know what it was but he wasn't about to let Lucifer know that.

"It's something my demons and I have been working on for a very, very long time." He supplied eying the bottle with a small smile. "It has quite a few uses really. Trapping, warding, summoning…only over very short distances unfortunately…less than a mile. My personal favorite though, has to be the mind control."

Harry was eying the vial more warily now.

"All of it's linked to you of course." Lucifer said shaking the small piece of glass. "It took forever to work out how to do it. Just a few drops though and I'll be in your mind."

Harry watched as Lucifer pulled a syringe from his pocket and popped the protective cap from the top placing the needle into the liquid and drawing it up. "Say 'ah'." Lucifer joked moving the needle closer to him.

"Fuck you." Harry said through gritted teeth.

With a triumphant grin Lucifer pushed the now full syringe into Harry's neck. Harry barely had the time to register the sharp burn of the liquid searing into his veins before something had struck Lucifer and sent him stumbling away.

The syringe, now unsupported fell from his skin and shattered on the floor. Even just laying there in front of him the liquid was repugnant to him. Anna was beside him wrapping her arms around him and shouting words, trying to get him to focus, but he couldn't. The world seemed to be moving too slow and too fast at the same time. Anna gripped him tight, shouted something else, and then they were no longer in the granary.

Sharp almost impossibly intense pain rocketed through his skull. He cried out arms lifting to cradle it. Anna swatted his hands away lifting his face towards her own. He blinked several times forcing himself to watch her lips as they moved. She was speaking to him and he needed to know what she was saying even though there was an overwhelming urge in his mind not to pay her any attention. In fact there was an alarming amount of his mind telling him to just go back to the granary. He fought the urge. He knew it wasn't himself thinking something so stupid.

"Focus!" Anna nearly screamed at him now. "Come on! I don't know the codes to get Jesse out, and I don't know where you sent his mother. Focus!"

Harry lifted his hands to meet hers with some difficultly. They seemed to be made of lead. He blinked trying to clear his mind, but it just kept screaming the same thing over and over 'go back to the granary'. "945…68…214 star." He got out between ragged breaths.

Anna bolted to the cabinet Jesse had gone into and entered the code. There were three loud beeps before the door released. To Anna's immense relief Jesse was indeed behind the door. His eyes swung around the room. "Where's my mom?"

Harry had the urge to rock back and forth gripping his head. "Safe." He got out biting his lip. "Anna, we have to…leave…now. We can't stay here."

Anna ran to his side to help him up. Jesse moved forward looking a bit wary. Harry sent him a mental image of a house. "Take us there." He told him grimacing.

Jesse nodded gripping both of their hands and whipping them to their destination. In front of them stood an unkempt lawn and a battered house. Harry fished through his pocket with two fingers still holding the other hand to his head. Eventually he found the key he always kept on him in case of emergencies. The same fingers held it out shakily to whoever would take it. He was losing focus on the external as he tried to fight the voice in his head.

He barely felt the guiding hands that led him into the house.

Anna sat Harry down on one of the over sized sofas that lined the living room walls. She was worried. She'd heard everything Lucifer had said about the strange liquid. There was a high chance that in a matter of seconds she'd be dealing with a Harry that was being controlled by Lucifer. Not only would she lose her only real ally in all of this, but she'd gain a powerful enemy. She wasn't sure she could beat him if it came down to a fight.

"My mom's not here." Jesse said having returned from searching upstairs. She was sure the kid had thought Harry was leading them to his mother.

Anna turned to him. She'd gotten to know him a bit better in the months since she'd started teaching him how to control his powers. He was a decent kid, if a bit mature for his age in an unnatural creepy sort of way. "I'm sure she's safe wherever Harry sent her."

"What's wrong with him?" Jesse said turning his gaze to the catatonic man on the sofa.

Anna shook her head. "I'm not really sure. Listen, I'm sure when he's better he'll be able to tell us where your mom is. Until then you'll have to be patient. We should be safe here."

"Anna…" Harry voice trailed off after a second.

Anna swung in his direction. She grabbed his shoulders trying to get his eyes on her face. "What is it?" she asked watching as his eyes travelled left then right focusing and un-focusing intermittently.

He closed his eyes for a second as if steeling himself. "Paper…and a pen."

He'd barely finished the thought before she was going after the required items. She found a notebook on the kitchen counter and a pen on the table near the door. She held both out when she returned to her starting position in front of him. His hands weakly scrambled for them before withdrawing and scribbling out a list as quickly as they could. When he'd completed the task he held it back out for Anna to take and as soon as the items were gone from him he returned his hands to their positions on his head.

The words on the paper made little sense to her. "What is-?"

"Bobby Singer." Harry bit out rubbing his temples less out of focus and more annoyed sounding now. "Take it to Singer."

She couldn't quite understand why, but she followed the instruction. She turned to Jesse. "I'll be back soon. Don't leave."

In seconds she was in the Singer Salvage Yard standing at Bobby's front door and giving a tentative tap. Shuffling could be heard inside followed by a disbelieving huff near the door. Slowly the door creaked open to reveal a suspicious faced Bobby and a twelve gauge undoubtedly packed with rock salt rounds. "What're you doing here?"

"I have a list from Harry." She said waving the paper she'd torn from the notebook. "He said to bring it to you."

"Oh I'm sure he did." Bobby said obviously upset with the circumstances and still a little distrusting. He tossed her a flask. She eyed it with confusion. "Standard procedure."

"We haven't got time for-"

"Either drink or I take the shot goldilocks."

Scowling Anna undid the lid and took a swig. Lowering the flask she gave him a look that dared him to give her another test. Instead he snatched the list from Anna's hand and motioned for her to proceed into his house.

Ellen was at the doorway watching with confusion. "What's going on?" she asked, recognizing Anna from her appearance in Bobby's kitchen the other day.

"Devine mail delivery." Bobby said waving the paper before unfolding it and reading the first two lines. He nearly choked on his spit. "What the hell does he need this stuff for?"

"I don't know." Anna answered honestly.

"Well why couldn't the bastard come here and ask for it himself?"

"He's indisposed." Anna skirted.

Bobby huffed. "Fine. I've got this stuff here, but he owes me."

Anna nodded eagerly, desperate to get back to Harry and Jesse. After all, Harry could lose whatever mental fight he was putting up any second and Jesse would probably lose any fight the two had if Harry was determined to bring the kid to Lucifer. She watched as Bobby moved around throwing the listed items into a disposable grocery bag. When he'd gathered everything he held it out to her. With a nod of gratitude she was back at the house with Harry.

A quick glance told her Jesse was just where she'd left him and Harry was still an unmoving mass on the couch. She hustled over holding out the bag and nudging him gently. His hand darted for the bag even though he didn't lift his eyes to her.

He fumbled through the contents swiftly before extracting an obsidian black bowl. He grabbed a few other items throwing different amounts into the bowl and finally mixing them together. He dabbed shaking fingers into the mixture and drew a strange symbol on his forehead. Immediately the tense set of his shoulders relaxed some. Anna faintly recognized the symbol as runic, but she had no idea what it meant.

Harry pushed himself back against the couch with a sigh.

"Is it gone?" she asked tentatively. "Will you be alright now?"

"No." Harry answered bluntly. "I've stalled it, turned down the volume in a sense, but it is only going to buy time."

"What do we do? How do we get rid of it?" she asked worriedly.

"No idea." He said rubbing his temple. "But I should be able to think of something."

"My mom?" Jesse interrupted with a frown.

Harry glanced over tiredly. "She's in a small town in Idaho." He said reassuringly. "She'll have to stay there until I can find the time to set up new identities for you two."

Jesse looked a bit less anxious knowing that she was indeed okay.

Harry groaned a bit earning another concerned look from Anna.

"You said it was stalled."

"Yes, but it's still there." Harry snapped back. "I can feel it…hear it like background noise."

"What's it saying?"

"Right now? It…he wants me to find Sam. He thinks I'll be able to convince the giant to say yes. I don't know why he thinks I'll have any sway on the matter…Anna?"

Anna was glaring down at him. "The Winchesters again?" she said with venom. "It always comes back to them. They're the reason this whole thing started."

"True." Harry agreed with a shrug.

"The world would have been better off if the Winchesters never existed."

Harry glanced up sharply not liking the tone she'd taken. "Anna…" he said warningly.

She glanced down and gave him a small smile. "I think I know how to stop it." She said with a grin.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Want to cue me in?"

"Keep the Winchesters from existing in the past and Lucifer never springs his cage. If Lucifer never gets free he can't use that stuff on you, but more importantly this whole apocalypse mess never happens."

"Anna…" Harry barely got out her name before she was gone, too carried away in her excitement to stop and listen to him. "Anna!" he shouted at the empty room in frustration.

He knew better than to think one's problems could be solved by trying to meddle in the past.

"What do we do?" Jesse asked face devoid of emotion as he watched Harry.

Harry put one hand to his head rubbing his temple. "We stop her from killing the Winchesters." He said with a frown. "The universe doesn't work like she thinks it does."

"What about you?"

"Winchesters first." Harry said with a grimace. "She isn't connected to heaven so she'll try to take them out in the present first if my assumptions are correct."

"And me?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay here. If Lucifer knows you're out in the open he won't stop trying to find you. I'll send someone over to make sure you get everything you need."

Jesse looked like he wanted to argue the point, but stopped himself and hesitantly nodded.

* * *

Harry stumbled a bit as he landed in Bobby's Salvage Yard. He tried following the card he'd placed on Dean all those months ago, but the Winchester had apparently tossed it, or lost it, at some point as Harry found the tracking spell leading him to a random river in Louisiana. Chances were Dean had probably fallen in the river at some point, knowing the Winchester record for getting tossed around on hunts.

He knocked swiftly on the door and placed one hand against the frame while he waited for Bobby to answer. The door creaked open and Bobby's suspicious eyes peered around its edge. "She said you were indisposed."

"She was right." Harry said pushing the door the rest of the way open and ignoring the shotgun in the old man's hands. His eyes flicked around the hallway then back outside. "Where are the Winchesters?"

"Why do you want to know?" Bobby's voice was laced with suspicion even after their truce. "And what the hell is on your head?"

Jo's head peeked around the corner obviously curious about who had been knocking at the door.

"They're in danger." Harry said turning to Bobby, ignoring the last question.

"They're always in danger. What's different this time?"

"Anna." Harry said simply. "Anna wants them gone. She doesn't just want them dead. The dead can be brought back. She wants them eradicated."

Bobby was already pulling a phone off the nearby shelf, dialing a number. The device rang several times before a gruff voice answered. Harry could barely make out Dean's voice on the other end as he snatched the phone from Bobby's hands and pressed it to his ear. "-really don't have time to talk right now Bobby."

"It's not Bobby, Dean. It's Harry." Harry amended.

"Harry? Where's Bobby?" Dean's voice turned harsh. "You better not have-"

"I take it if you're having that reaction you've already had a run in with Anna." Harry said rubbing his forehead.

"Yeah, you could say that. There a reason she's suddenly gunning for us?"

"She blames you two for the start of the apocalypse. Can't really fault her on that one, but she thinks with Sam gone it will stop."

"Well, we stopped her." Dean said sounding a bit too smug.

"No…you didn't." Harry said with a frown. Were the Winchesters really so full of themselves?...Yeah, they were. "She's gone back in time. She intends to wipe you out before you were born."

"How do you know that?"

"…it's what I would do." In actuality it was quite similar to something Harry had tried to do upon learning he was able to manipulate time to an extent. Of course he hadn't been trying to kill anyone. He'd been trying to save his friends, and he'd failed.

Harry listened as Dean drew the phone away from his ear and talked to someone for a few moments. He heard the name 'Cas', and knew Castiel was with them. Then the phone went dead and Harry stared at it in confusion. He couldn't figure out why Dean had hung up. He ended the connection and hit the redial button. The phone rang once before going to voice mail.

"Damn it." He said rubbing his temples and trying to coax back the headache that had been threatening to form for the longest time.

"Are you okay?"

Harry opened his eyes to find the concerned face of Jo staring back. "Not particularly, no." he said with a frown.

"What's going on with Sam and Dean? Can I help?"

"My best guess is that they just convinced their buddy Castiel to give them a lift to the past to head off Anna. There's no way that little trip isn't going to have serious repercussions for Castiel."

"What do you mean?" Bobby asked with a frown.

"Castiel isn't running at full capacity right now. If he expends a large amount of energy in a small amount of time his vessel won't be able to keep up. It probably won't kill him, but he could put himself in a coma if he's not careful. Anyways, time travel isn't easy. It takes a lot of energy. There's a reason you don't see people hopping around decades at will. Castiel could probably pull himself through mostly alright, but I doubt the Winchesters will let him go alone, which means he's bringing passengers. That's a lot more difficult. I doubt you could even comprehend the complex algorithms and theory behind time travel so let's not get into that."

Bobby seemed to be trying to process what Harry had just said. Jo was simply staring at him determinedly, waiting for him to continue.

"I need you to tell me everything you know about the Winchesters." Harry trying to ignore the goading voice in the back of his head telling him simply to find Sam. Strangely enough he was trying to find Sam, but not for the reasons Lucifer wanted. "I'm going to try to find an approximate year and follow their energy signatures so I end up around the same time they do."

"Let me come with you." Jo interrupted. "You could probably use the back up right?"

Harry considered her for a moment. He didn't really need the back up, but he knew next to nothing about the girl or her mother, and they were now part of the same side in a war of sorts. He shrugged. Why not? "As long as you agree to do as I say." He countered. "Some things will require delicate handling. Screwing with the past can be dangerous business."

She hesitated for only a moment, glad that her mother was taking a nap on Bobby's couch, before nodding.

Harry turned to Bobby. "As many specifics as you can give would be nice, particularly birth dates and places. My guess is that Anna will attempt to off them in their early childhood…possibly before then." Harry pulled out a notepad as Bobby began to list what he knew.

* * *

"So let me get this straight." Gabriel said pacing as Harry pulled spare things from his closet. "Lucy drugged you with some secret mind control potion, Anna's on a rampage to destroy the Winchesters, the entire world is on the verge of tearing itself apart, and you want me to babysit."

Harry paused to throw a glare over his shoulder at the petulant angel. "I don't need you to babysit Gabriel. I need you to make sure Lucifer doesn't find him while I'm gone keeping the world from imploding."

"I don't really understand why you think the Winchesters dying is a bad thing. Personally I find them rather self involved."

"Says the most self involved person I know." Harry retorted.

Gabriel had the humor to look offended for half a second before grinning. "Touché. So how are you going to find Anna?"

"I just need to find…" Harry stopped grabbing a small metal device. "This actually."

"What's that?" Gabriel asked plucking the thing from Harry's hand and turning it over in his hands curiously.

"It's an amplifier of sorts. It'll amplify Anna's energy so I can focus on where she landed. Of course with Castiel and the Winchesters going back as well I'll have more points to lock on to so I should get a more accurate reading. Unfortunately there's already one me running around that time period I'll have to make sure we don't bump into each other. I have no idea where I was in the seventies. Years tend to blur together when you're as old as I am…and when you've live trough the seventies several times. I doubt it'll be an issue though."

"I got the water!" Jo said bursting into the room with a manic grin. She'd made it perfectly clear to Harry that she thought time travel was the coolest thing ever. She'd also thanked him again for healing her now that she had the energy to move.

"Good." Harry said watching as she held up the satchel full of water bottles. "We're almost set then."

"Why can't she watch the kid?" Gabriel whined.

"Because she can't teleport Gabriel." Harry said with annoyance they'd been over this already when Gabriel had first learned of his task and had seen Jo. "She'd also make a poor defense against Lucifer. No offense Ms. Harvelle."

Jo certainly looked offended. "Why because I'm a girl?" her tone was calm but icy.

"No, because you're human, and he's the devil." Harry replied with the same amount of venom. "Shall we?"

Anger forgotten Jo stepped forward to grab Harry's proffered arm. "Allons-y!" she said with excitement earning a curious side glance from Harry.

* * *

**Allons-y! Yes, a Doctor Who reference for those of you reading. Fantastic show Doctor Who. Could've gone with Geronimo but Tennant wins in my book any day. I think it's his presence in the Harry Potterverse that sells it for me. **

**So, Lucifer's a dick. Nothing new there, but he does have some cool tricks. **

**I'd like to let people know that I'll be working on my novel and getting ready to move soon. I'm not sure how that'll affect my updates, but we'll see, eh? **

**For everyone leaving me the lovely reviews thank you if I haven't already sent you a proper pm thanking you. Also if I have. You guys are awesome. I read every one of them. ^^ If you have questions for me feel free to ask, but I do ask that you have some sort of account so I can message you the answer. Sometimes I give out spoilers when people ask nicely enough ;)**

**For those leaving me the not so lovely reviews. I respect your opinion, have a fantastic time reading something else. (I am in no way trying to dissuade constructive criticism. That's a different matter altogether.)  
**

**I think that's all for now. 'Til next time!**

**~Kanathia**

**EDIT: I went back through and corrected all the 'Gabrielle' autocorrects. That happened once last chapter too. Weird huh? **

**EDIT EDIT: I'm doing a read through of the whole story to fix continuity errors and small mistakes that are inevitably littered throughout since this is a WIP. There may be small changes if you re-read but all major things will remain the same. (PS anyone unhappy with Ruby's death scene should go back and see how I changed that. Harry got a little payback XD)**


	15. Ch 14: Flante de Praeterito

**Oh wow…finally.**

**I think an apology is in order. Nothing particularly bad happened to delay this chapter. It's just that my move out date got moved forward by about a month so I could make it down here in time for my job offer leaving me with only a few days to pack a two bedroom apartment by myself. Then I had no internet at the new place. It sucked, royally. **

**So I'm sorry about the long ass delay on the chapter. I'm not sure how often I'll be updating from here on out, but the gaps shouldn't be as long as this one was. This was the exception. Enjoy the chapter. ^^**

* * *

Harry caught Jo as she nearly fell off the side of the bridge they'd landed themselves on. She clung to his arm for support as she warily backed away from the edge.

"Where are we?" she asked glancing around at the river flowing beneath them and the trees blocking the sunlight.

"Lawrence, Kansas." Harry said checking the device in his hand. "And it looks like we landed a few hours after Castiel and the Winchesters."

"What year?" she said impatiently.

"Nineteen seventy…eight." He answered with a concentrating frown as he dug out the first water bottle and downed its contents. He drank three before speaking again. "Time travel always seems to dehydrate me for some reason. Town seems to be that way from the sound of it, and we're not far off." He glanced back at Jo. He supposed it was a good thing they hadn't gone much further back or her clothes might have raised some eyebrows. Drawing attention was rarely a good thing. There was a reason he'd ditched his suit for dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt.

"Nineteen seventy eight…" she said glancing about her with a renewed sense of wonder. "Everything looks the same."

"Did you expect trees to looks different thirty years ago?" Considering they were surrounded by little else he wasn't sure what she was trying to make her assessment on.

She huffed. "So how do we find Sam and Dean? Or that Anna chick?"

Harry stopped walking for a second closing his eyes. "I can't feel Anna, which means she's either not here yet, or she's depleted her energy reserves to dangerously low levels. Probably the latter since Castiel had to fix on something to get here. The Winchesters, however, are in that direction." He pointed roughly in the direction they were walking.

She nodded and they resumed walking for a few more minutes in silence. "So…that stuff on your forehead…what is it?"

"It's a rune." Harry said focusing ahead. "Thanks for reminding me though."

As she watched the symbol seemed to fade from sight. "How'd you do that?" she asked impressed but also sort of wanting to pull a gun from the obvious use of magic. She trusted Harry because he'd saved her life, but that didn't make his magic any easier to get used to.

"It's just a simple glamour." He said ruffling his bangs so they hid part of pale expanse of skin where the rune had lain. "It alters the viewer's perception. I could make you see anything that I can imagine, but I find they work best at hiding things rather than creating. There are much better ways to create illusions or disguises."

Jo nodded taking all of the information in. "So who are you? Really. I get the feeling the Winchesters know a lot of it, but not all of it."

"If the Winchesters know more than I think they do Castiel is going to have hell to pay the next time we meet." Harry said scathingly. "And what I know they know only scratches the surface."

"Okay…but that doesn't really tell me anything. Except maybe that you have a vendetta against Cas."

Harry scoffed.

"Sooo… can I know what the Winchesters know at least? I feel like I've been left outside of some circle."

Harry glanced over at her but didn't say anything. They had already reached the town's sidewalks and Harry was allowing the buildings and out of date technology do the distracting for him. When Jo had done her gawking she turned back to Harry with a grin before she remembered why they'd come here in the first place.

"So where are they?"

Harry nodded to his right and started walking. They passed several streets of businesses before they started to move into the residential area of town. Harry loosely based his direction on where he could feel the Winchesters' energy coming from. The sun was starting to dip down in the sky and Harry had wished he'd thought to grab a coat. Instead he put the thought from his mind and focused on unscrewing the lid to another bottle of water.

Eventually they reached a street called Robintree and Harry had them turn again. They walked down it for a minute or two before stopping outside of a small house. The front door looked battered and the steps leading up to it uneven. The chipping numbers 485 sat prominently by the door. It wasn't a very attractive place for sure.

"They're here?" Jo asked unsure. She'd seen enough shady places while doing hunts to not be intimidated, but she'd imagined the Winchesters would be somewhere more…homey if they were hunting down their parents for protection.

"Yup." Harry said stepping up to the door and swiftly knocking. The slight mumble of conversation that had been coming from the other side stopped abruptly at the side. Jo joined him on the small porch.

"I wonder who that could be." Harry heard a young male voice saying and from the sound of a single set of footsteps he was approaching. The was a curious shuffle from further in the house which was probably one or both of the brothers scrambling to get a better vantage point in case the person knocking was hostile.

The door opened to reveal a man in his twenties who looked markedly similar to Dean. Harry blinked. "Can I help you?"

"Certainly." Harry said smoothing over his momentary surprise and evening out his accent to a more American dialect. "Perhaps you've seen the guys I'm looking for. I heard they passed through this way. Sam and Dean?"

"Oh, yeah." The man said smiling now. "Are you more of Mary's family? I never really get the chance to meet her side of the family, and now I'm meeting a whole bunch of you on one day. Was this some sort of surprise party or something I wasn't told about?"

"Something like that." Harry said returning the smile, although not as brightly, as the man let him in.

"I didn't catch your names. I'm John. John Winchester." The man said holding out his hand first to Jo who was closest and then to Harry.

"Jo Harvelle." Jo said with a smile.

"Harry." Harry tossed out haphazardly as John led them to the sitting room where Sam and Dean were sitting with their future mother.

"Mary some more of them just showed up. You guys planning a reunion or something?" John joked.

Mary smiled wanly obviously uncomfortable. She was eying the new arrivals not with distaste, but apprehension.

"Mary." Harry said offering her a hand. "We've never met, but I've heard a lot about you. Harry."

"Wish I could say the same." Mary said with a bit of heat.

"Hi, I'm Jo." Jo offered with a bit of a wave.

"Sam, Dean, I think we need to talk." Harry said smiling dangerously and receiving odd, wary looks from the brothers just as the phone rang.

"Uh…I'll get it." John said standing and offering his seat to Jo.

The moment he'd left the room Mary rounded on Dean. "What's going on?" she asked in a low hiss. "Why the hell have a bunch of hunters shown up on my doorstep? And you, the last time I saw you my parents died!"

"Way to start off with the hard questions." Harry said with a frown. "What ever happened to 'hello, nice to meet you, how was your day'?"

Mary sent him a harsh glare.

"Look we don't have time to explain in detail." Dean hurried unsure how long his father would take in the kitchen. "But there's something after you, and it won't stop until you're dead. You're both in danger."

Mary's face grew worried. "A demon?" she asked, but there was a tone there that said she could hold her own if she had to.

"Not quite." Harry cut in.

"Not quite?"

"An angel." Sam said sounding a bit dazed.

Mary laughed, but seeing that no one else was joining her she stopped. "You're joking right?"

"'Fraid not." Jo supplied.

"You've got to be. No hunter has ever seen an angel."

"Oh that's all kinds of wrong sweetheart." Harry said with a shake of his head. "But we'll let that go for now. It's not important."

Dean looked ready to punch Harry. "This is your fault somehow isn't it?"

"Oh? It's not nice to point fingers Dean." Harry said with a smirk.

"How would this be your fault?" Mary asked with narrowed eyes.

"Anna is one of my allies in a sense. It's not my fault that she had a dim moment though."

"What have I done?" Mary said confused. "I haven't hunted in years. Why would I be a target now?"

"It's not what you've done Ms. Campbell. It's what you're going to do."

Mary was too confused by the statement to realize Harry had used her maiden name.

"Look, the details aren't important." Dean reasoned. "What matters is that you and your husband are in danger. We're here to help. Now is there somewhere we can go?"

Mary stared at him for a moment gauging his concern before she replied. "My parents had a cabin. We didn't use it very much but we could go there."

"Alright." Dean said appeased now that they were getting somewhere.

"What do I tell John?"

"Tell him…"

"Isn't it a bit…quiet?" Sam spoke up suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, irritated at having been cut off.

"John was on the phone." Sam said standing up. "I don't hear anything coming from the kitchen."

Dean and Mary rushed for the little room off to the side. Sam was right behind them. Harry and Jo shared a glance before following sedately.

"Why would he go to the shop?" Mary asked holding the notepad in her hand where John's hastily scribbled handwriting could be seen.

"I've got an idea, but it's not good." Dean said with a frown. "Come on. We've got to get there now."

Mary, Dean, and Sam took off through the back door. Jo made to follow them but stopped when she realized Harry wasn't moving with the group. She glanced back and gave him a questioning look. He was rubbing his head vigorously as though trying to rid himself of a particularly persistent ache.

"Harry?" she asked hesitantly placing a hand on his shoulder. He opened weary eyes.

"Let's go." He said locking arms with her again and turning on the spot.

The scenery blurred around her and she felt like she was being pulled through a tube. It was vastly different to the time travel she'd experienced not long ago, and completely disorienting. When the scenery stopped blurring she let go of Harry's arm and turned to the side retching. She turned back to him a bit wobbly to receive a half amused grin. "A bit of warning next time?" she said angrily.

He shrugged heading over to a door on the wall beside them. Jo recognized the building as some sort of mechanics shop by the wide garage doors out front. Harry stopped at the door and held it open gesturing for her to go in. She passed him with a frown. Inside she saw some cars jacked up on raised poles. Others just sat innocently on the ground. Harry passed her and the door slid shut behind them.

Suddenly there was a crash from further in followed by a groan. Jo didn't wait around to ask questions. She darted forward, intent on saving John. Harry followed a bit more calmly behind her.

John was pushing himself out of the caved in window of a car while Anna advanced. She'd have to have thrown him quite a distance for her to be so far back. Jo cringed at the sight. She placed herself firmly between the advancing angel and the civilian with a determined glare. She didn't have anything capable of killing an angel with her, but she'd be damned if she just stood by while Anna beat the life out of Sam and Dean's father…or any civilian for that matter.

"You should move." Anna told her with a frown. "I don't want to have to hurt you, but this has to be done."

Jo stood her ground and glared. "Like hell it does." She glanced to her left and right trying to spot a weapon of any sort, but the floor was clean.

"So be it." Anna said stepping forward and raising her fist to strike the girl in front of her, but an open palm caught her fist halfway through the arch. "Harry."

"Anna." Harry responded as the back door slammed open to reveal three panting Winchesters.

"John!" Mary called running to said man's side where he was kneeling in confusion and slight pain.

"Marry? What's going on?" John asked pulling his wife away from the crazed woman who'd attacked him.

Harry released Anna's hand but made it clear that he was standing in her way on this one. He could tell she understood the subtle gesture for what it was by the narrowing of her eyes.

"Harry, this is for the future. Without them the world won't be destroyed. I'm trying to save the world!"

Harry scoffed. "Don't give me the holier than thou approach Anna. I've seen it too many times for it to be effective."

"Then maybe we can discuss this when you're in your right mind." Anna said taking a swing at him and taking him by surprise.

He stumbled a bit away catching himself on a car, enough for Dean to try taking Anna out with an angel sword. Anna wobbled a bit as she turned but she caught Dean's wrist and neck expertly forcing him to drop the sword. Harry could tell she was indeed low on heavenly energy at the moment from her dulled reactions. He wasn't fairing too well himself though.

"Wish I could say it was good to see you Anna." Dean joked though he slowly reddening face belied his lack of air.

"You too." Anna answered with a frown.

Mary grabbed the abandoned sword and twirled it in that way that only a seasoned fighter could. She lunged at Anna trying to get the sword through her back while she was distracted with Dean, but she was a beat too slow. Anna tossed Dean sending him through a window and spun in time to ward off the fatal blow. They traded blows like they were locked in a deadly dance for a minute before Anna got the better of Mary using her teleportation skills. She came up right behind the unsuspecting woman and made to strike. Mary having heard something that tipped her off spun to slash at Anna, but Anna caught the blade and launched Mary backward. Mary would have hit a car if Jo hadn't moved to catch her, sending both women tumbling across the floor, but minimizing any serious damage the hit could have done Mary.

"That's enough Anna." Harry said stepping in front of the angel again as she moved to follow Mary. "This won't solve anything."

"How can you know that!" Anna yelled defiantly. "And how do I know that's not just Lucifer talking through you!?"

A crowbar made its way down through the air and into Anna's chest courtesy of Mrs. Winchester. Harry grimaced knowing that even if it wasn't life threatening to Anna it would still have been really fucking painful. Anna grasped the metal and pulled it out turning to a disbelieving Mary. "Sorry. It's not that easy to kill an angel."

"No." Sam agreed swinging the door to face them. "But you can distract one."

Harry flinched as Sam smacked his hand against the sigil painted there in blood. A blindingly bright light filled the room and suddenly there were only five of them there. John helped Jo up and they all glanced around as if assuring themselves they were out of immediate danger. Mary heaved a sigh of relief before she caught John watching her.

"Let's get out of here." Dean suggested from his spot near the window.

* * *

Everyone had just piled out of the Impala but Sam held Dean back as the others moved away from the car, Jo heading the pack. "What's up Sammy?" Dean asked glancing towards their parents nervously. He didn't want to be away from them for long if he could help it. It was too dangerous.

"Did you hear Anna in the shop?" Sam asked with a frown.

"You're gonna have to be more specific." Dean replied eyebrow raised. "I was a bit busy being thrown out of windows."

Sam rolled his eyes, sure that his brother hadn't heard if he wasn't sure what Sam was talking about. "About Lucifer Dean." He said caustically. "She said Harry might be Lucifer's mouth piece."

Dean's tone lost all mocking cynicism in an instant. "You think he's being controlled by Lucifer?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know, but Anna seemed to think there was something connecting him to Lucifer and it's not smart to just ignore that."

Dean frowned in concentration. After a few minutes he cursed loudly. "We're right back where we started!" he said frustrated. "We don't have any way to fight him. He can't die! The only person we know that he's scared of is the devil and we're not exactly on terms to ask favors."

"Not to mention Lucifer is the reason we're doubting him in the first place." Sam threw in unhelpfully.

"Alright." Dean said pacing. "We play it by ear. Anna seems to have gone a bit nutziod on us anyway. Maybe she's wrong. If she's not and he is bad news we use the sigils to toast him when he shows back up. I mean they worked at the shop and he's got to give up eventually right?"

Sam was unsure, but couldn't really think of a better option. Besides, either way it went Harry seemed intent on saving all four of the Winchesters and Sam couldn't really argue with that outcome. "What about Jo." Sam blurted just as the thought occurred to him.

Dean stopped and turned back. "What _about_ Jo?"

"Well, it's just… she showed up with him… and… I don't know." Sam said frustrated for having to point out what he thought was mostly obvious. "She might not be Jo. Or she is and she hasn't been one hundred percent about her motives up until now. Either way she could be bad news."

"Or she could be completely innocent and got dragged into this just because." Dean defended.

Sam held up his hands in a no offense gesture.

"Just like with Harry." Dean said. "We wait and see."

* * *

They made their way to the cabin Mary had been talking about earlier that evening. It was a small place but open which was good for visibility, bad for hiding. It was run down and looked damn near ready to be condemned but it was still standing and that was a good sign.

Jo stormed in and dropped the bag she'd been carrying since she'd arrived in 1978. The Winchesters, more specifically Sam and Dean, had refused to tell her what they had done back at the shop. She had the feeling that she was once again being underestimated by the duo, and she was getting annoyed by it.

"So you want to tell me what happened now?" she asked crossing her arms as the two walked into the room surveying the building. "Where the hell is Harry? And how did you get that Anna chick to leave?"

Sam and Dean shared a look.

"Actually she raises a fair point." Mary butted it. "I'd like to hear an answer to those questions too. As well as a few others."

"We used an angel banishing sigil." Sam said pulling a paper out of his bag and unfolding it to show them the strange marking on it. Jo recognized it as the marking Sam had made on the door at the garage. "It worked on Harry…because he's half angel." Sam finished after getting a nod from Dean. Telling people about Harry seemed to be a bad thing to do if what happened to Castiel was any indicator. It was risky, but Harry had established that he didn't want them dead more than a few times today so they figured they might be able to push their luck a little.

"He's half angel…?" Jo sounded disbelieving eyes wide. Then she seemed to think about it. "Is that how he healed me?"

Sam shrugged and Dean just grunted.

John had made a beeline for the kitchen obviously deep in thought about everything he was hearing. It was an impossible amount to learn at one time. His reality was being flipped. Sam shared another look with his brother before following. They wanted to give him a minute but leaving him alone wasn't really an option with a killer angel on the loose.

"Explain." Mary said rounding on Dean now that she realized that John was gone. She wanted the whole story while her husband wasn't there. "Why does an angel want me dead?"

"'Cause they're dicks." Dean said haphazardly.

Jo snorted and Mary laughed. "Not good enough."

"It's complicated." Dean skirted.

"All ears." Mary said adjusting herself and waiting for him to elaborate.

"You're just going to have to trust me okay." Dean said with a frown.

"I've been trusting you all day." Mary said exasperatedly.

"It's kind of hard to believe." Dean said hesitantly he didn't want Mary to think he belonged in a psych ward.

"Alright…" She said pushing herself to her feet and turning. "I'm walking out the door then."

Jo watched the exchange torn between wanting to help Dean, and not knowing what to say to make the situation any better.

"I'm your son!" Dean finally said as Mary's fingers touched the doorknob.

Mary stopped immediately. Obviously she hadn't been expecting that outburst. Jo couldn't blame her. It was an odd confession. "What?"

"I'm your son. Sorry. I don't know how else to say it. We're from the year 2010. An angel zapped us back here. Not the one that attacked you…friendlier." Dean gushed apparently unable to stop the words now that they were coming out. Jo wanted to smack her face. Way to ease his mother into the situation. Then again, Mary was supposed to be a hunter. Perhaps she reacted best in high stress situations.

"You…can't expect me to believe that." Mary was staring at Dean as if he might start attacking her at any moment, but the fact that Mary hadn't simply pushed her way out of the door upon hearing Dean's confession was a good sign.

"Our names are Dean and Sam Winchester. We're named after your parents. When I would get sick, you would make me tomato-rice soup, because that's what your mom made you. And instead of a lullaby, you would sing "Hey Jude", 'cause that's your favorite Beatles song."

Mary looked on the verge of tears. She shook her head. "No, I don't believe it." She turned to Jo. "And you?"

"Uh…Jo Harvelle." She said raising her hands defensively. "No relation."

Mary turned back to Dean, tears in her eyes. "I raised my kids to be hunters?" She asked and it almost came out as a sob.

"No. No, you didn't!" Dean shook his head vehemently.

"How could I do that to you?" Mary looked sick to her stomach at the mere thought.

"You didn't!" Dean denied again this time she actually seemed to hear him. "Because…you're dead."

* * *

Sam watched John cut his hand and begin to draw a sigil as Sam had instructed him to. Not too thin, but not so thick that the blood ran into itself and ruined the lines. John had a knack for it, and it was odd for Sam to think there was a time before his father had been a hunter. Somehow he'd always imagined his dad hunting from a young age like Dean and himself.

"That's pretty good." Sam commented. He'd never been great with conversation with John before why would that change now?

John glanced back at him before finishing up the sigil and turning.

"Uh…I…I just wanted to say sorry, about all this." Sam gestured around them at the cabin which seemed the perfect embodiment of how crappy the current situation was. "I…I know it's a lot."

"Look, how long have you known about all this…hunting stuff?"

"Pretty much forever. My dad raised me in it." Sam said nonchalantly, but apparently that hadn't been the right thing to say.

"You're serious?" John looked appalled. "Who does that to a kid?"

"Well…Mary's parents did…" Sam offered trying to defend John even as he insulted himself unknowingly. With words Sam had used in the past no less.

"Not to interrupt what I'm sure was a brilliant family bonding session, but Sammy, I think we need to have a talk." Harry was standing in the back doorway looking haggard and very, very angry. His fake American accent was gone and the British lilt only made him seem more dangerous somehow.

Sam stood his ground. "Yeah? I think so too." Sam said returning the glare and motioning for John to move further from Harry for the moment.

"You're British." John said in surprise instead of moving.

Harry simply shot him an annoyed glance.

"What was Anna talking about earlier when she mentioned Lucifer talking through you?" Sam cut in before Harry could say anything to John.

Harry's face grew hard and Sam wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want to speak about whatever had happened or because he was remembering something particularly unpleasant. They stood there for a minute. Then two. Sam was sure Harry wasn't going to answer and then Harry sighed rubbing his temples but Sam noticed he was careful not to touch the center of his forehead. There was a bit of a shimmer in the air and then Sam could see a strange symbol painted there.

"What's that?" he asked not recognizing it even as he mentally went over every symbol he knew.

"It's a rune." Harry said simply. "Just a day ago Anna, Jesse, and I had a run in with Lucifer. Long story short he's trying to control my mind and I'm fighting it. The rune is helping."

"Lucifer?" John butted in again his tone incredulous. "As in the devil?"

"No, as in the easter bunny." Harry snapped. "Honestly I thought you Winchesters were supposed to be smart."

John blinked. "Us Winchesters?" he said slowly. "How would you know my family? They've never mentioned meeting any British people that are, apparently, half angel."

Harry looked over to Sam and simply smiled in a far too unsettling manner.

"Uh, John." Sam said and John switched his gaze to him. "Could you go get Dean?"

John frowned but went anyway.

"How do we get rid of it?" Sam asked bluntly.

"What?" Harry asked leaning against the wall.

"The connection between you and Lucifer." Sam supplied as though it were obvious. "There has to be some way to sever it."

"I'm still thinking about it, but we have bigger fish to fry right now Winchester."

"Bigger than Lucifer hitching a ride in your brain?"

"Did you forget about the half crazed female angel hunting you down or have you solved that problem yourself since you hurtled me half way around the planet?" he sneered. "One problem at a time Sammy, and yours is the more pressing unfortunately."

"Why _are_ you so intent on keeping us alive?"Sam asked as Dean came into the room shotgun loaded even though it would do little good against Anna, and perhaps less good against Harry in the long room.

Harry shook his head. "Much as I hate to admit it, there are worse options than you two in the universe when it comes to fighting the apocalypse. It's possible to change the players now, but it's too late to change the game. Though I wish you would give me a heads up when you're using the banishing sigils. I can ward against the effect but I have to be told they're being used first."

"Where's John?" Sam asked not spotting him when Dean and Mary came into the room.

"Painting a sigil on the front door I think." Mary answered but she kept eying Sam oddly.

Harry noticed the look. He shifted his gaze to Dean. "How much have you told her?"

Dean's eyes shot to Mary then back to Harry. "Everything."

Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Idiots."

"Sam?" Dean said the name and shot him a glance.

"We're good." Sam answered. "I think. Apparently Lucifer gave him some sort of mind control drug and he's still fighting it."

"How do we know he's fighting it?" Dean suddenly narrowed his eyes.

"Well for starters I still don't want Sam to say yes to the son of a bitch." Harry ground out.

Dean shrugged.

"By everything…" Sam said glancing at Mary.

"I told her not to go into the nursery that night." Dean admitted. "I told her to take you and run."

"Cute." Harry said with a frown. "But obviously that won't happen for one reason or another."

Dean bristled but Sam just looked sad. "Why do you say that?" Sam asked.

"Because you're still here." Harry said glancing at both of them seriously. "It's a circle when you think about it. If you warn her and she somehow saves Sam from Azazel; Sam and you don't become hunters then you don't go back in time and there's no one to warn her. This isn't something you can change."

"Then why don't you change it?" Dean said bitterly. "Your existence wouldn't change if you warned her."

Harry glared at Dean. "Anything that affects you becoming hunters changes who you meet in life. You'd never have met me and I wouldn't know to save her. Are you really such a dumbass Winchester?" Dean backed down realizing how absolutely fruitless his attempts would be.

"Hey! We've got a problem!" John said darting back into the room. "Those sigil things, they're gone."

"Gone as in?"

"I drew one of the front door, turned around, and when I looked back again it was a smudge."

Dean moved into the front room and they heard him call back, "He's right." Harry tried not to find amusement in the offended look on John's face when Dean hadn't just taken his word for it.

A terrible screeching noise filled the room and everyone but Harry grabbed their ears. Harry held up his hand and the sound seemed to dampen. "Get into the front room!" Harry ordered. "That's not Anna."

"What was that sound?" John asked still rubbing his ears as they all made their way toward Dean. The glass on the outside of the cabin began to shatter.

"An angel's true voice speaking enochian." Harry answered bluntly.

"Harry!" Jo said in pleasant surprise when she spotted the man at the back of the group.

He gave her an acknowledging nod, but little else.

The front door burst open revealing a man in a nicely tailored suit. It was standard gear for angels but it did nothing to hide the angel's energy from Harry.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean blurted eying the man.

"Uriel." Harry answered before the angel could. The angel lifted an eyebrow.

"Have we met?" he asked and then he seemed to really take Harry in and realized he wasn't human.

"Not yet in your time stream, no." Harry replied with a smirk. "But time has barely seemed to change you. I bet you're just as much a dick now as you will be in thirty years. Imagine that."

Sam nodded to Dean and Dean and Jo lunged to take on Uriel just as Anna appeared in the other doorway. Uriel warded off a blow from Dean, but missed the smaller girl who got in what would have been a nice blow if she were fighting a human. In Uriel's case it was simply annoying. He swatted her aside and she hit the wall, sliding to the ground bonelessly. Dean distracted the angel from the fallen girl by hitting him with a large piece of wood he found near the door.

"Here goes nothing!" Sam said going straight for Anna with the angel blade.

Harry winced as she knocked the blade from his hand but was glad the man hadn't succeeded in killing the angel. John launched himself at the knife, but Anna grabbed him and simply tossed him through the air like he weighed nothing. Harry slowed the man's descent after he crashed through the wall trying to make sure he didn't hurt himself too badly.

When he turned back Sam was on the floor again but with a long pole shoved through his chest.

"Sammy!" Dean yelled desperately, horrified.

"Merlin!" Harry said smacking his head. "Is he dead _again_?!"

Anna advanced on a horrified Mary who was watching her supposed son die on the floor in front of her. She hit an invisible barrier and stopped staring at Harry who moved in front of the stunned Winchester. "That's enough Anna."

"It will be when she's dead." Anna tried to amend.

"No. Don't you get it? They can be replicated! It may not be easy but the angels could do it." Harry said angrily flinging his hands in the air. "And they would. Take away their toys and they'd simply create new ones. They don't need Sam and Dean's personalities. They need vessels. The biological compatibility of a vessel comes from genetics. And they needed siblings for the historical aspect. It's replicable Anna. And if they recreated the vessels elsewhere we'd have no leads. We'd have no idea who they were. We'd have to start from scratch! And there's no guarantee that the new vessels would be anywhere near as willing to put up a fight against the angels when they came knocking."

"Anna."

Harry took a deep breath staring into Anna's paling face. The deep voice had been unexpected, though somewhere in the back of his mind he had realized another angel had joined them there.

"Michael." Anna replied breathlessly.

Michael moved to put his hand on Anna's shoulder and Harry recognized the gesture for what it was. He widened the force field to block the hand and narrowed his eyes as Michael seemed to focus on him for the first time. "Don't you dare." Harry seethed.

"Harry." Michael acknowledged looking less than pleased to see the man. "I'm afraid Anna has overstepped herself this time."

Harry shook his head. "Then as the person responsible for her now, I'll deal with it." He said with heat. "Scuttle back to your legion of worshippers."

"Michael." Uriel said from where he stopped fighting. "I didn't know."

Michael glanced over to the angel but barely spared him a thought. "Goodbye Uriel." He said with a snap of his fingers and the other angel was gone. He turned back to Harry and eyed him. "You always did have a tendency to take the wrong side in fights."

Dean was sure it was impossible for Harry to look any more hateful.

"What have you done to John?" Mary asked worriedly.

"John is fine." Michael assured her from within John's body.

"What…what are you?" she asked fearfully.

"Sssh." Michael said placing a finger to her forehead and catching her as she dropped.

Harry watched it all with glowering eyes.

"You seem to have something on your forehead Potter." Michael said eying the design. "And you smell like my brother."

Harry glared. "I take offense to that."

"Of course you do. It was an insult." Michael said still in the annoyingly monotone way of his. "It's rare that I catch you at moments when your guard is down."

"Yeah? Don't get used to it."

Michael shrugged. "I wonder what happens if I do this." Michael swished his hand from left to right and Harry felt only the slightest touch against his forehead but it was enough to disrupt the lines of the rune.

Harry let out a distressed cry his mind seemed to explode with thought. It was an overload that his brain couldn't handle and it felt like he was losing control. The lights of the cabin dimmed and then grew far too bright before shattering. The entire structure was shaking as Harry gripped his head.

"The runes of your people were so fragile, easily manipulated. One line here or there could reverse its meaning entirely." Michael said watching with obvious amusement. "And of course the medium you chose to write it in, while great for enhancing its strength is easily changed."

"What have you done to him?" Anna said kneeling next to Harry. His eyes were wide and unseeing it seemed.

"Exactly what I said. I've reversed the runes effect. He should feel like Lucifer is screaming through his mind right now. Of course there could be other, more permanent side effects."

"How do we stop it?" Dean said with a fierce glare.

Michael turned apathetic eyes on Dean. "I'd say our conversation is long overdue Dean."

"Fix them." Dean indicated his brother and Harry.

"First we talk." A rush of wings filled the air and Anna was gone taking Harry with her. "Then I'll fix your darling Sammy."

* * *

**So I was thinking about doing something interesting starting right here. I'm going to continue writing this version of the story, but I also wanted a different branch where Harry turns…essentially evil. I was thinking that would be pretty awesome to write but I don't want that to happen in this version. So what to do? Write two versions of course! :D**

**I'm not sure when I'll release that, or even if I'll feel like writing it by the time I've concluded this version but I'll let you guys know if I do so you can read that too if you want. I might hold off on releasing it simply to avoid confusion. **

**Oh, and for those interested in seeing the difference, I've tweaked the conversation in chapter seven about Harry's origins. It reads mostly the same, but I went ahead and threw in a bit more detail and due to about three pms and several reviews curious about my lack of using the term 'nephilim' I've thrown that word into the mix as well, just not in the way most are expecting. Still, it'll clear a few things up hopefully.**

**Sorry again about the delay. 'Til next time guys! **

**~Kanathia**


	16. Ch 15: Somnia Praeteriti

**This chapter will break the one hundred thousand word barrier for this story. To celebrate I'll be adding another, slightly shorter chapter today or tomorrow also. It'll only be about three thousand words but I figured I ought to do something since my long absence meant I missed I missed my hundred thousandth chapter view from you guys. **

**Thank you for all the encouragement and support. I hope you guys are enjoying this story. I'm having a fantastic time writing it. It's been brilliant.**

* * *

Harry turned the page of his newspaper, contentedly sipping the butterbeer in front of him and ignoring the bustle in the shop. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was always busy around this time of day, but Harry always stopped by to see George and Ginny anyway. At the moment he was packed away off to the side on an old chair trying not to get in the way, but he enjoyed the atmosphere of the place. He believed it was nigh on impossible to not enjoy one's self here.

He glanced up as his wife brushed past to grab a box of puking pastels. She offered him a smile before scurrying on her way. Harry took another bite of his sandwich, wishing the Aurors had allowed him to pick a different time for lunch so he could enjoy the small break with her.

He folded the paper neatly in front of him and instead watched children and the occasional harried looking parent hustle past. It was all so lively…so very wrong, Harry' mind supplied, though his conscious mind couldn't seem to fathom why.

Something was definitely off though. Was that the third or fourth time he'd seen the kid with the horrible orange scarf run past with his hands laden with brightly colored boxes? And now that he thought on it, didn't that kid resemble a younger Ron in some ways? Almost like Harry had warped the kid in his mind to suit some image of childhood innocence.

The room seemed much dimmer now and the people all seemed to slowly come to a standstill in the room; not one moved. No one spoke. Some had even frozen mid-step. Harry was more than a little alarmed. His eyes darted from one figure to the next willing them to move but afraid to speak for some reason he hadn't quite figured out.

Harry shoved himself up, half eaten sandwich forgotten as it dropped from his hand onto the floor. None of the immobile people seemed to notice. They simply held their places. Their unnatural stillness made it seem as if he were in a room full of mannequins.

Harry turned and found himself face to face with George. A wide grin split the man's face in a disturbing mockery of his normal, good natured smile. There was a malicious spark in George's too bright eyes, but he wasn't moving either. He was simply staring at Harry and grinning. And now that Harry looked the same grin was etched onto the faces of every one of the still people. A sudden hand on his shoulder made him jolt and he nearly punched a concerned Ginny in the mouth.

"Harry?" she asked kneeling. "What's wrong? You look terrified."

His eyes darted around the room, but just as soon as the people had stopped moving they started again. They moved about the room as if the little episode had never happened. Harry opened his mouth to speak but Ginny cut him off.

"I was thinking we could take the kids to a muggle theater tomorrow. You said you had a day off yeah?" she asked glancing his way as she shelved whatever she'd been carrying before she checked on him. The dialogue was familiar as if he'd heard it before, ran it through his mind over and over.

He swallowed thickly but he nodded an affirmative. "Gin…did you…" he glanced around confused.

"What?" she asked turning back to him. He felt his eyes widen at blood on her face. She seemed completed unperturbed by it, but it ran in little rivulets down her forehead and Harry knew she must be hurt very badly to be bleeding like that.

"Ginny!" he said rushing to her side in a panic and as he approached she seemed to lose her footing as she stumbled into his arms and he lowered her to the floor in concern. She was watching him now with pain, and fear, and love in her eyes and he felt his heart breaking all over again because he knew she was already dead even if he wasn't sure how he knew that, but here she was dying again and he didn't even know why.

Tears streamed down Ginny's face and she opened and closed her mouth a few times desperately.

"Ginny!" he said pushing her hair back and urgently trying to recall even a single healing spell. "No, no, no, no, no! Ginny!"

She grasped the hand he had laying near her heart and held it as tightly as she could. Her mouth still worked trying to produce words, but all she was managing was this odd gurgling sound that only frightened him more. He watched her lips as they formed the words 'I'm sorry' over and over until, with a shudder, she stilled in his arms. He let out a cry clutching her tighter to him as memories flooded through his mind.

Going to work. Having lunch in the shop. Placing bets on a Quidditch match with Ron. Flooing Ginny and being asked to pick up groceries. Taking an extra five minutes trying to decide whether or not to buy that toy Rose had been asking Hermione and Ron for all week. Leaving the shop. The chaos in the streets. Apparating home. Finding nothing but blood and destruction.

He wailed clutching Ginny tighter still as he lifted his eyes to the immobile bodies of his children. They were sprawled on the floor in roughly the same area as if they'd been huddling for protection. He could feel something inside of him splintering from the grief and pain. He gathered his children into his arms as well, unwilling to let them lay there as if their deaths meant nothing to him.

He knew. This was the Tuesday it all ended. The worst day of his life. The day he lost everything. He could feel his energy gathering just like it had that day, focusing outwards with the intent to destroy.

The images were old and familiar and so dreadfully real. His heart clenched painfully.

A sharp sensation on his face made him blink. If he didn't know better he'd say he'd just been slapped by someone. Some of the power slipped harmlessly away.

A hand grabbed his wrist bringing his attention back to Ginny as she got up jerkily from his lap. "It's your fault." She said with accusing eyes.

He didn't have the heart to argue.

"They're dead because of you!" she screamed letting out a sob.

She was right. He knew she was right. If only he hadn't taken the extra time at the grocery store. If only he'd come straight home instead of flooing Ginny. Maybe he would have been there to protect them. How could he leave them unprotected, defenseless?

"You have to make it right, now!" she declared.

Was it just him or did she sound less upset and more scheming now?

"You have to make it right."

He nodded. Another sharp pain across his cheek. The room seemed to flicker. How odd. He could have sworn he'd just seen a room completely different from this one.

"Do you know how to make it right Harry?"

Harry shook his head not willing to keep his eyes on Ginny. He stared at his kids unmoving when they had previously been so full of life. He'd wanted to watch them grow. He wanted to hear about their adventures and be there when they needed a father and give them everything they could ever want in life; all the things he'd never had as a child. Now they were gone.

"I'll tell you how to make it right Harry." Ginny cooed. "I can always tell you how to make it right."

"-out of it!" another voice seemed to echo in the room.

"You just have to listen Harry and everything will be okay." Ginny slowly moved their daughter from Harry's hands. "You just have to listen to me and their deaths can be repented."

Harry felt something flare in him. How could she say that? There was nothing he could do. They were gone and it was his fault. How could something like that be forgiven? Something was so utterly wrong with this. He slapped away her hands and glared even as the tears kept coming. "No!" he yelled and the vase at the far end of the room exploded.

She looked at him with sympathetic eyes and opened her mouth to say something, but Harry cut her off.

"You're not her." He whispered almost in reassurance to himself.

"What?"

"You're not her!" he said staring at her fixedly. As soon as he said the words with determination key memories flooded back into his mind. The warehouse. The syringe and the liquid. Going back in time. Micheal. "Lucifer."

Ginny's understanding and sympathetic look folded into one of cruel condescension and minute surprise. "This would all be so much easier if you'd just give in."

"Never."

"Need I remind you…you nearly did just now?"

Harry glared viciously.

"Oh well, I tried the easy way. Let's take the road less traveled." Ginny vanished and Harry immediately felt as if two hands were gripping his brain and squeezing.

He cried out in surprise but immediately struck out. He could feel Lucifer's energy shift as if it had been thrown. He blinked and he was most certainly in a different room. This looked like a cheap motel and a blonde woman was knelt in front of him. Anna.

"Are you there?" she asked trying to meet his eyes. "Come on. Say something." She was obviously worried.

Harry was focused on Lucifer's energy which he could feel ramping up for another attack. Apparently he couldn't force it from him like he'd hoped to do with his last attack. A brilliant thought struck him. If he couldn't throw Lucifer out, maybe he could trap him. He waited for the energy to try to attack again before he forced his own magic to envelope it making a little prison that was inescapable for the moment.

He almost wanted to sigh with relief being back to the real world again. He wanted the nightmares of his past to remain just that.

Anna raised a hand again but Harry caught her wrist. "Don't slap me again." He said frowning at the hand. "It's really irritating."

She narrowed her eyes. "Harry?"

He nodded making to stand.

"And Lucifer?"

"Trapped in here." Harry said tapping his head as he made it to his feet. He spotted a slumbering angel on the bed. Apparently the trip had been even harder on Castiel than it had been on Anna. "I was always terrible at occlumency when I was young but having as long as I've had to work on it gives anyone an advantage."

"Trapped?" she said eying him. "For good?"

Harry shook his head.

"Then how do we get rid of him?"

"I have a few ideas. Why did you take me here?"

"I didn't realize Castiel was asleep. I thought he might be able to help if Michael came looking for us."

Harry nodded. It would have been a sound plan if she hadn't just been trying to kill the Winchesters. He doubted Castiel would have anything pleasant to say about that when he finished his power nap. "So, still planning to kill the Winchesters?"

She gave him a long, hard look before heaving a sigh. "No." she said averting her eyes. "Even if I was it's pretty clear I won't be able to. Even their parents have guard dogs."

"Good." He said sitting on the bed somewhat amused by Anna's labeling of Michael as a guard dog.

"How do I know it's really you?"

"Decent question." Harry shrugged. "I'm not particularly sure how you could ever be sure. Perhaps I'm not even sure myself."

She nodded hesitantly thrown off by his odd phrasing. She wasn't entirely sure how someone could check either. She could ask about his opinion on Sam saying yes to Lucifer, but Harry could easily lie about it. She supposed it came down to how committed he was on removing Lucifer's presence. If he showed hesitance he probably wasn't in his right mind. "So what now?"

"We get rid of Lucifer."

"How?"

"I have ideas, most of them require returning to the present first." He said with a frown. "Did anyone grab Miss Harvelle?"

She shook her head. She doubted Michael would send the girl back to her own time out of the goodness of his heart either.

"Could you pop back and grab her then?" Harry said rubbing his temples. "I imagine trapping their friend in the past will hardly win the Winchesters over."

"Michael…"

"Is gone…" Harry said tilting his head just the slightest bit. "Can't you tell?"

She shook her head. "I haven't been able to sense my brothers or sisters for a while now." She sounded forlorn.

Harry nodded. He had suspected as much. It was what had stopped her from realizing Castiel was asleep. "How did you find Castiel?" Even he had barely felt Castiel's presence since returning and there was no way she could have found him that way if she couldn't even tell if Michael, one of the most powerful angels, was on Earth or not.

"I skimmed it from one of the Winchesters earlier, the name of the hotel and the room number." She said frowning before she popped out of his sight. A moment later there was the familiar rush of wings and Jo was slumped in Anna's arms.

"Two unconscious people, a drained angel, and a basket case." Harry said glancing at the living occupants of the room. "We're shaping up to be a fantastic team."

"The Winchesters were gone." Anna said depositing the slight girl on the bed next to Castiel. "Even Mary and John."

"Yes, I figure Michael had a pep talk with Dean and then sent all of them back home." Harry eyes travelled to Jo and he noticed Anna had neglected to grab his bag with the water bottles.

"Do you want to queue me in on your plan to get Lucifer out of your head for good?"

Harry shot her a sidelong glance. "I'm still working on it."

"Great." She muttered. "Sounds reliable."

The room seemed to flicker before Harry's eyes. He knew Lucifer was fighting to regain control. He kept seeing Ginny flickering in and out of existence near where Anna was standing.

"_Don't you remember our vows Harry_?" Ginny's voice whispered sweetly to him. "_As long as we both shall live."_

Harry suppressed the presence again, forcing his mind firmly into reality. "Let's get back to the right time period before something else decides to happen." Harry said forcing himself from the floor.

Anna nodded lifting Jo.

Harry's eyes shifted to Castiel sleeping on the bed and Anna's complete disregard for the other angel. He rolled his eyes gesturing for her to hand him Jo. "Grab Castiel." He said shifting Jo to one arm.

Anna showed distaste for the action but didn't ignore the command.

"I should have enough power to get us all back." Harry said sounding utterly exhausted to her. "Hold on tight and don't let go. I don't want you flung off to who knows where. I doubt you'd have the energy to get back on your own and I don't feel like looking for you."

Anna locked her free arm around Harry and tried not to smile at his words. The man played coy, but she knew he cared.

Time travel was vastly different with Harry than it had been for Anna on her own. For one she didn't feel like she was being wrung of heavenly energy, which was nice. Perhaps more importantly the process wasn't instant. She watched as the world seemed to spin around them. Colors and shapes blurred past with no pattern or reason. It was quite disorienting. She barely managed to keep her hold on Castiel.

When they were back on solid ground Anna felt the need to blink a few times to reacquaint herself with the contrast of the average sight of Bobby's salvage yard after the odd transportation visuals.

She saw Harry falter under Jo's weight and quickly made to help him with the girl.

Bobby's front door slammed open and the whole gang was there; every one of them holding some sort of gun. Harry found Bobby somewhat comical holding a shotgun while in a wheelchair.

"The welcoming committee is here." Anna muttered to Harry.

"Brilliant." Harry replied with a strange lopsided grin even though his tone was scathing. Anna spared him a glance noting that he wasn't acting quite himself.

Ellen marched forward her own shotgun swinging dangerously. She stopped a few feet from them and leveled the damned thing, not at Anna, but at Harry. "Tell me why I shouldn't load you full of buckshot right now." She said angrily.

"Can we all stop trying to kill each other?" Harry said tiredly. "We're supposed to be a team for fuck's sa…"He trailed off, mind suddenly in overdrive as he thought.

"Harry?" Anna asked sounding worried. She lowered Jo toward her mother so she could turn to him.

Harry held up a finger. "Thinking." He said eyes darting about the place.

"Cas?" Dean asked having joined Ellen in front of them. His gun wasn't aimed at either of them, but he still had it at the ready in case someone made a wrong move.

"He's still sleeping." Anna said nudging the angel off of her shoulder. "We found him like that."

"Brilliant!" Harry said, actually sounding genuinely enthused this time.

"What's brilliant?" Sam asked having followed his brother though he seemed keen not to have to stand next the angel which had not so long ago killed him in cold blood.

Harry turned smug eyes on the brothers. "I've figured out how to remove the drug." He said with a half smirk. "…supposedly. Can I get a glass of water? I'm absolutely parched."

Bobby chucked a flask at him irately.

Harry's nose wrinkled as he barely caught it. "Holy water again?" he said unscrewing the cap and taking a large drink despite his obvious distaste. "That's just as foul as I remember."

Bobby shrugged. "Beggars can't be choosers."

Harry glared. "I'm _not_ a beggar."

"So what's our cure all here?" Dean cut in sensing a colossal bitch fit coming. He'd spent enough time with Sam to have developed a sort of sixth sense for them. Then again, they happened so often with Sam that he was perpetually prepared for them.

"Death." Harry said frowning.

"Death? Like the horseman Death?"

"No, I mean you need to kill me." Harry said grimacing at the mere thought. "Temporarily at least. That's how I removed the foreign presence last time."

"Last time?" Dean mocked. "Does it happen often?"

Harry fixed an unsettling gaze on the man and let it linger a moment too long. "Only one other time."

"Was that Lucifer too?" Sam asked watching the sort of off way Harry was staring around. It was almost as if he wasn't all there.

"No." Harry said simply not really focusing on the Winchesters.

"Who was it? _God_?" Dean said the name mockingly, but he thought the reasoning sound enough. If the Devil was the only one who could plausibly do it now then perhaps God was the one who'd done it in the past. After all, as far as Dean knew the only people who credibly might have more power than Lucifer were God and Harry.

"No." Harry answered again simply and they were sure that was the only answer they were going to get, but Harry continued after a long pause. "He was my parent's murderer."

Shocked silence rang through the air, but Harry didn't seem to realize anything was off about what he'd just said. He didn't seem to show any sort of emotion about the words either. Sam wasn't sure if he should be saying something sympathetic or not.

Dean visibly shivered. "God, it's weird to think you had parents. I swear it would be more appropriate for you to have hatched or something."

Sam scowled at his brother who simply shrugged in response. Anna shifted uncomfortably from beside Harry.

Harry set his gaze on the elder Winchester for a few moments but didn't say anything, and Sam started to think he was insulted by what Dean had just said.

"Your parents were murdered?" Sam asked thinking of nothing else to say to break the silence.

"Yes." Harry said and his voice was still devoid of emotion. "Actually…" Harry turned his eyes to Sam and watched him curiously. "My mother died in my nursery when I was an infant and the house burnt down afterward. Life is curious sometimes, no?"

Sam looked absolutely horrified at the casual jab at his mother's death, but Dean had bristled at what Harry had said and looked ready to throw a punch. Bobby looked utterly pissed as well. Anna released Castiel and moved in such a way that it was obvious to those in front of her that they wouldn't do well to try anything.

"It's odd that I'm mentioning that." Harry paused a moment head tilting just a bit. "The rune must be affecting my reasoning skills. I don't usually share my past."

The tension drained from Dean's shoulders. Punching Harry right now would be like hitting a mentally impaired child for spilling milk.

Ellen shook her head in exasperation. "So what do we need to do?" she asked shifting her daughter who was stirring lightly. "I take it we can't just shoot you right here and now? There needs to be some sort of ritual or something?"

Harry frowned at her. "I suppose…yes." He said moving past them without further warning.

They were left there reeling in his absence. After a second all eyes turned to Anna.

"You're not still trying to kill us are you?" Dean asked warily.

Anna turned her gaze on the man and gave him a sympathetic look. "No, Dean. I'm not."

"Or our parents?" Sam butted in eying Anna distrustfully.

She shook her head.

"Well, you'll have to understand if we don't just take your word for it." Bobby said snidely wheeling himself toward the house. Sam helped Ellen with Jo and they retreated as well.

Dean knelt next to Castiel and lifted the unconscious angel staggering under the weight. "Fuck, he's heavy." Dean gritted out.

"I could take him." Anna offered. "Even weakened I'm stronger than a human."

Dean sent her an annoyed glance. "Thanks for the offer but I'm fine princess. What made you change your mind anyway?"

Anna blinked at the sudden change of topic. Then she heaved a great sigh fixing him with a pointed stare. "Harry has a way of explaining things that makes you feel like an idiot for not understanding sooner."

Dean snorted.

"He explained why my plan would never work in a way even I couldn't disagree with."

Dean shot a glance at her. He looked ready to say something when Castiel twitched and nearly fell out of Dean's arms in result. Dean lowered Cas' feet to the ground. "Cas, you with us?"

Castiel's eyes slowly opened glancing about. He nearly pushed Dean behind him when he spotted Anna next to them watching curiously. He probably would have succeeded too if he weren't so weak.

"Whoa Cas, chill." Dean said placating. "It's alright."

Castiel's normal state of confusion reared again at that proclamation. "Where's Sam?"

"Inside with Bobby and the others." Dean answered.

Castiel only then seemed to realize where they were. "How did were return to the present?"

"A lot has happened since you blacked out Castiel." Anna said with a small frown.

"Harry dragged you guys back here from the look of it." Dean said glancing back at Anna to see if he was right. She nodded.

"Why aren't you trying to kill him?" Castiel asked, fixing Anna with a disbelieving stare.

"Would you prefer I was?" she asked offhandedly.

"No one touches the Winchesters." Castiel growled back, again trying to put himself between Anna and Dean.

"Calm down." Ann said moving toward the front door. "I do not seek their destruction any longer."

Castiel watched her go in confusion before nearly toppling over once the perceived threat was gone. Dean barely kept him upright. "What has happened?" Castiel asked eyes searching Dean's imploringly.

"A lot." Dean said shaking his head. "I can catch you up later. Right now I'd like to know what they're doing inside."

Castiel nodded allowing himself to be shepherded toward the door.

The door opened to a scene of confusion. It was obvious Harry had sequestered the study for whatever he was doing. More mirrors than Dean was even aware Bobby owned were scattered about the room in supposedly strategic positions. All Dean could see was disarray. In the center of the room a small pile of chalk and a bowl of…something lay. Harry was busy drawing sigils or runes of some sort with the chalk onto the floor. They looked particularly complex. "We'll need the colt." Harry said distractedly, not looking up.

"The colt." Sam said with confusion. "What are we going to do with that?"

Harry stopped and turned toward Sam and a bit of that familiar condescension had sparked in his eyes. "You're going to shoot me with it…what else?"

"You want us to shoot you with a gun that _permanently_ kills everything?" Sam asked disbelievingly.

"Had I not made that part clear?" It sounded like something Harry would normally say but there was not bite this time. His whole demeanor was just…off.

"Right…I'll just get that then…" Dean said helping Cas to a chair before turning to retrieve the gun.

"What are all the symbols for?" Bobby asked, having shooed Ellen off to care for her daughter.

Harry finished up his last one and turned to Bobby dusting off his hands. "Just making sure whatever is in my head is good and dealt with when this is all over."

Bobby didn't recognize a single one of the odd symbols.

"Got it." Dean said returning to the room and eying Harry a bit uncomfortably.

"Right." Harry said drawing a circle on the floor around himself. "This is going to be unpleasant." He signaled Dean who pulled out the colt hesitantly.

"You're sure it won't kill you permanently?" Sam asked eying the gun in Dean's hands.

"Positive." Harry replied with a smile which Dean found disturbing. "It should kill whatever is inside me though. It may be part Lucifer, but it isn't actually him so it doesn't have the strength to withstand the colt."

"Is your personality going to reset?" Dean asked with a frown. "Because goody two shoes Harry is starting to freak me out a little bit."

Harry's head tilted a bit to the side and Dean had to suppress a shiver. "It's odd you should say that."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked curiously.

"This is a lot closer to my original personality than how I normally act. Even if a bit…duller."

"Is duller even a word?" Sam said instantly and cringing when he realized he'd just given his brother more nerd ammo. Still, he'd never really heard Harry say things that weren't 'proper English'.

Harry shrugged, uncaring.

"Your 'original' personality?" Dean asked skeptically.

Harry turned his unnerving green eyes on the older brother. "You tend to become a bit more cynical when you've lived through the millennia several times over. The sarcasm was always there, it just intensified with practice." He said eying the brothers who happened to be closest to him. "And I believe whatever Michael did to the rune may have cause acute brain damage. Rather unfortunate really. I'm not really sure how much of it will be fixed. We'll have to see."

"I'm not sure I feel that great firing a gun at someone with brain damage." Dean said with a frown.

Harry shrugged. "Then give it to someone else."

"That's not what I meant." Dean said scowling.

"Now's not really the time to develop a high moral standard Winchester." Anna reminded although it would be apt to say she seemed the most worried of all of them.

"I'm not entirely sure what to expect." Harry said, eyes focusing on the gun. "So, for your own safety don't enter the outer circle until you have my go ahead…or if I haven't moved for several days. I imagine I might start to stink the place up a bit if I somehow die permanently."

"Yeah…that's definitely not helping me feel better about this." Dean said with a frown.

"Just shoot." Harry said with a sigh, closing his eyes and looking a little too relaxed for Dean's taste.

Dean hesitated sharing an unsure look with Sam.

Dean saw Harry wince without any discernible reason. His hands raised to his head gripping his temples. His eyes shot open and he locked gazes with Dean. There seemed to be some sort of inner battle going on. "Shoot now!" he yelled sounding borderline desperate.

When Dean hesitated the gun was snatched from him by Anna. She pulled the trigger and they all watched as the bullet hit the dead center of Harry's forehead. He pitched backward and remained completely immobile save a few sparks near the bullet hole.

Dean yanked the gun out of Anna's hand only to notice the angel's hands were shaking noticeably. She didn't meet anyone's eyes. "I will return." She said before vanishing in a rush of wings.

"I feel like I just watched a snuff film." Dean said staring at Harry. Sam nodded in agreement.

"How long do you think it'll be before I can use my study again?" Bobby said gruffly staring at the mirrors scattered about the place with distaste.

Dean shrugged. It would be a waiting game now.

* * *

Anna popped into the house where she'd last seen Jesse and sat down roughly on the couch. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting Harry to come up with to get rid of Lucifer's control but it certainly wasn't this. She placed her shaking hands in her lap and stared at the floor. She'd killed many people before on orders. She had no idea why it felt different this time.

"Heya Sis."

Anna nearly jumped out of her own skin at the unexpected voice. Her eyes shot to Gabriel who was leaning casually against the door frame watching her with his usual amused expression. Life always had been a giant game to him. "Gabriel? What are you doing here?" she said watching him warily. "I haven't seen you since-"

"I bolted from heaven all those years ago?" Gabriel said pushing himself from the frame with a smirk.

"You're not…back with them are you?" she wasn't sure if she could get away if he decided to capture her.

He shook his head. "Back with those stiffs? Nah. They're boring. Always have been." He said pulling out a candy bar. "I heard from my buddy Harry that you went AWOL and started trying to off the Winchesters. Kudos to you I suppose. Those chuckleheads needed a good beat down. They're way too full of themselves."

Anna suppressed a smile. "So you joined Harry too?"

Gabriel shrugged. "The guy's a damned good businessman. He could talk you into anything if you gave him long enough."

Anna doubted it took very much talking to get Gabriel on Harry's team. He had, after all, been in a very precarious position, much like Anna herself.

"Where is he anyway? If you're back here I assume Harry got everything straightened out."

"At the Singer Salvage Yard dead…for the moment." She threw in the last bit when she saw the way his eyes narrowed.

"Any particular reason he's dead? Last I checked he was fine…well…mostly anyway." Gabriel said with a smirk. "He was in better shape than the world anyway."

"You know about the drug Lucifer gave him?"

Gabriel nodded.

"He thought dying would remove its effects." She said rubbing her face. She'd lost a lot of her heavenly energy making that trip to the past. She felt almost human now perhaps that was why her hands were shaking so badly.

"Are all the angels in your unit odd?" Gabriel said eying her.

"What do you mean?" she asked caught off guard not only by the question, but the nonchalant way he asked it.

"Well every angel I've met from your unit has had something odd about them. You and Castiel rebelled, for different reasons true, but still…then there was Uriel. I met him once. Oh, he didn't like me too much once he figured out who I was. Still, last I heard he was trying to form some sort of team to overthrow Michael. I'm not sure how I feel about that really." Gabriel rambled not seeming to notice Anna's reactions to any of it. He was talking to amuse himself, as usual, so he didn't much care.

"Where's Jesse?" Anna finally cut in tired of listening to Gabriel's meaningless words. "Is he safe?"

"Yup." Gabriel said with a wide grin. "Can't say I enjoyed staying here with him though. The kid's creepy. He never talks he just sort of sits there and watches you." The angel shuddered in remembrance.

"Maybe he just doesn't like you?" she offered with a small smile.

Gabriel had never looked more insulted. "Who wouldn't like me? I'm awesome!"

Anna snickered at the indignation in his tone. She had to admit that Gabriel was unlike any of her other brothers. He hardly acted like an angel at all. She'd never really had the chance to meet him before now. He had abandoned Heaven ages ago, not long after her creation and long before she ever attained a decent rank. Even if he had stayed she would rarely have seen him herself because he was an archangel and she was a foot soldier. The hierarchy of heaven was a rigid one.

He was not what she had expected from one of the great leaders. She had once met Michael long ago and held a short conversation with him about her position in the heavenly army. It had been the only time she'd really held a conversation with him and she'd immediately disliked him. Knowing he was her leader only drove home her decision to remove her grace even harder.

"I think I'm going to return." She said standing. Her hands were steady again. Somehow, probably unintentionally, Gabriel had steeled her nerve.

Gabriel huffed. "Well, tell Harry to hurry up. I don't want to be stuck babysitting forever. It's not exactly my idea of a dream job."

"I'm sure he won't mind hurrying back once he's alive again." She said with a laugh, mood considerably lifted. After all, if people like Harry and Gabriel had chosen the side of the humans she couldn't really be wrong in doing the same could she?

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At least one person remained in the room at all times. Everyone was somewhat anxious to see Harry up and moving again. If the colt had somehow killed the man they would have lost a valuable ally in fighting the apocalypse. Several hours passed with no result, but remembering Harry's rather vague warning no one stepped through the outer circle.

When the ten hour mark passed a strange sigil very near to Harry lit up like a beacon startling Sam who'd taken watch at that point. He eyed it nervously, unsure what the sigil meant and whether its lighting had been a good or bad thing. He supposed some good came of it, as the light had startled him from drifting off. He'd been pretty close to succumbing to sleep beforehand.

He wasn't sure if he should tell someone about the light or not. He glanced at the clock; half past two. Unless something more serious happened he supposed it could wait.

The way the light reflected off of the mirrors was odd. It seemed sort of wavy like something was distorting the reflection. He shrugged. It wasn't particularly important.

His interest was dying down again by the time anything happened. His head was starting to lull to the side when his eyes caught sight of something. He blinked himself awake again watching as something seemed to almost slide from Harry's head, near the wound. Sam leaned forward careful not to cross the chalk line, and it was a good thing he hadn't. Not a second after he'd leaned as far forward as he could to stare at the strange phenomenon it darted towards him, lightning fast. It smacked some sort of invisible barrier right in front of Sam's face and he recoiled violently with a shout of surprise toppling the chair backwards and rolling across the floor before he came to sprawled stop on the far wall.

Almost instantly Sam could hear pounding footsteps from one of the bedrooms hustling his way. Sam's eyes were locked on the thing that tried to attack him as it bounced around the circle faster and faster seemingly panicking when it could find no exit.

"Sam, what's-!"

Sam flung out and arm stopping Dean from crossing the circle where his foot had almost done such.

Before their eyes the thing bounced a few more times, slowing in its attempted escape. It smacked the invisible barrier one last time right in front of Sam before letting out a strange low pitched squeak and shriveling. In a matter of seconds it started turning to dust.

"What the actual fuck was that thing?" Dean asked, eyes wide.

"No idea." Sam said staring at the dust warily. "It came out of Harry, but I don't know what it was."

Dean's eyes snapped to the unconscious, possibly still dead, man on the floor. His eyes caught the shining sigil curiously but he didn't say anything. He probably wanted to ask Sam what it was but it wasn't like Sam had any answers this time. He and Bobby had dug through quite a few volumes on ancient runes and they still hadn't uncovered what any of the symbols meant. Castiel had passed out again soon after everything happened so he was virtually as useless as the books were on this matter.

A rush of air behind them drew their attention to the returning Anna. She looked much more composed than when she flown the coop earlier. A tan messenger bag was slung over one shoulder and Dean spotted a scotch bottle peeking from the top. She raised an eyebrow at their startled expressions. "You look like you've seen a ghost." Then she frowned as if considering her own words. "On second thought, knowing your records with the supernatural, you might have. Were there any ghosts?"

"Nope. No ghosts." Dean said turning his gaze back to Harry. "Just weird bouncing black masses coming out of corpses."

Anna looked unsure about how to respond to that. Sam supposed he couldn't blame her for being unsure.

"I think his fingers just twitched." Dean announced watching Harry's left hand intensely as if he could make it happen again if he stared hard enough.

"Maybe he's waking up?" Sam asked hopefully. There was an awkward tension in the room right now with only Sam, Dean, and Anna present; with her recent murder attempt and all.

Anna flipped the light switch she was standing next to and the room became much brighter. Sam had, had only one of the lamps on before trying not to use too much energy at night. Under the now harsh glare Harry's subtle movements were much more obvious. Every once in awhile a finger or foot would twitch.

"Should we wake everyone?" Sam asked watching the movement curiously.

"Why would you do that?" Anna asked not taking her eyes from Harry.

Sam opened his mouth to supply an answer but couldn't really find one. The sleeping habitants would wake up eventually there was no need to deprive them of sleep when they had no idea how much longer Harry would just be laying on the ground twitching. For all Sam knew Harry might have been twitching since he took watch from Bobby. And Dean, Anna, and himself should be more than enough to tackle any potential problems even if the angel still looked drained.

Sam retook his seat with a sigh. Dean dragged a chair up next to him obviously too awake now to try to go back to bed. Anna sat herself in a chair on the opposite side of the room where she could see Harry's face. Sam was grateful for the company of his brother. Being alone in the room with Anna probably would have been too much for his already stretched politeness.

Harry groaned and one of his hands balled into a fist. Sam and Dean shared a look before turning back to the man on the floor.

Anna stood to move to Harry's side. As her foot made to pass over the outer circle it hit resistance and the rest of her body, unable to stop in time hit the invisible wall as well. Dean tried not to snicker at the angel's stunned expression. He was helped in his endeavor when Harry slowly rolled onto his side and pushed himself up into a sitting position.

He seemed to be doing a full physical check, cracking his knuckles and rolling his shoulders among other things. When he was obviously satisfied that at least his body was in working order he glanced about the room spotting the other three.

"How do you feel?" Sam asked eying Harry with open wariness. He hoped beyond hope that the colt had worked on killing the small bit of Lucifer that had been clinging to Harry's mind.

"Brilliant." Harry said sounding genuine about the assessment and cracking his neck. "Could do with some firewhiskey…no wait…this one doesn't have it. Who are you again?"

The Winchesters shared a worried look.

Harry didn't seem to care still testing himself out. "Don't mind me if I say something odd. My head hasn't quite finished re….pairing the damage yet. My memory hasn't quite caught up." He paused for about two seconds in the middle of the word and then kept going as if he didn't realize he'd done it.

"You don't remember who we are?" Sam said pointing to his own face as if his indication would clarify something for Harry.

Harry frowned. "Samuel Winchester aka Sam; brother to Dean Winchester, vessel to the angel Lucifer, attended Stanford for approximately four years before being dragged back into the family business, one of the keys to starting the apocalypse, visions suggest he will spend a significant amount of time in he…" Harry stopped abruptly and put a hand to his head blinking twice before turning a harsh glare on Sam. "Fuck that was annoying. Don't do that again."

Dean and Sam were staring at Harry as if he'd grown another head.

"Visions suggest what?" Sam said wide eyed.

"Nothing." Harry bit out harshly, rubbing his temples. "Oh I hate getting shot in the head. It always screws with something. Next time aim for the heart Anna."

"Memory caught up then?" Anna asked kneeling just outside the circle.

"Mostly." He said glancing at the still shining sigil beside him. "The ward activated? Did something happen?"

"That depends…" Sam said also glancing to the strange symbol. "What's the ward supposed to do?"

"Ward things." Harry said, a hint of amusement in his voice. When Sam looked ready to open his mouth and complain about the vague description Harry continued. "Specifically it detects ill intent. I set it up to trap anything that entered the circle that had ill intent. If it activated something inside must have wanted harm of some sort to befall either me or someone else in this room." Harry glanced around. "I don't see anything though."

"Well there was this thing…" Dean said with a frown.

"Thing?" Harry asked raising an eyebrow.

"Sort of hard to describe." Sam agreed. "It was about the size of a softball, but we didn't get to see much detail. It sort of…came out of your head and then it was bouncing around trying to get out of the circle until it sort of…died." He gestured to the pile of dust near him.

Harry stood on wobbly legs and moved over to the pile toeing it with his shoe. He seemed to come to a conclusion about it because he turned his back on it a moment later, instead moving toward the sigil.

"So your head…it's all you in there?" Dean said eying Harry's back.

"All me." Harry agreed kneeling at the symbol. All he did was draw his finger through it and its light flickered out as the lines were broken.

"Wait, all that thing had to do was break the lines and it would have been free?" Sam asked glancing at all the other sigils and wondering how well protected they'd actually been.

"Only I could have broken that line." Harry said with a shake of his head. "I used some of the last of my magic to make sure of that. Didn't want a repeat of Michael, did we?" Harry spat the angels name like it disgusted him. It probably did, considering what the angel had done to him.

"Glad to have you back." Sam said with a small smile. It was a massive weight off of his shoulders knowing they hadn't just lost the guy who would probably be the tipping point in this war.

"Glad to be back." Harry said rolling his shoulders again and taking the clothes that Anna offered him. "It's brilliant not having someone fucking with my head again. I'd almost forgotten how thinking clearly felt." He paused halfway to Bobby's bathroom.

"Something wrong?" Anna asked warily.

Harry shook his head and they could all see the strange smile on Harry's face. "No, I just had a craving for treacle tart. I hadn't had that craving in a long time." He gave no explanation continuing on his quest to change clothes.

They all watched him until he disappeared behind the wooden door.

"Can I be the first to say it's weird hearing him say he wants anything besides scotch?" Dean said loudly frowning in the direction of the bathroom. "And that smile was damn weird." He finished more quietly.

Sam nodded in agreement. He turned to Anna who didn't seem nearly as worried. "Is there any way to test and make sure that he's really him?"

Anna shrugged. "I've never seen anything like what Lucifer did to him. I wouldn't know what to look for." She paused. "But I think it's gone."

"What makes you so sure?" Sam asked frowning.

She shrugged. "He felt…off before. I don't get the same feeling." She said retaking her seat.

"The guy's craving British deserts! How is that _not_ off!" Dean said throwing his arms in the air for emphasis.

"Well he is British…" Anna said giving him a bewildered look.

"I meant the fact that he's craving sweets in general." Dean countered. "I've never even seen the guy eat. I wasn't sure he did."

"He doesn't have to…" Anna supplied. "But his health would deteriorate if he didn't eat for long periods of time, just like a human but slower."

The brothers took a moment to absorb the detail.

"Besides, he used to be essentially human." Anna continued. "I'm sure he has quite a few culinary preferences. Not to mention odd habits and such. I think you two dehumanize him too much."

Just then the bathroom door opened, abruptly ending their conversation. Harry walked out wearing a nicely cut suit. "Did you really grab one of my Westwoods to wear at a salvage yard?" Harry said frowning and straightening the jacket.

"You have more than enough to spare." Anna pointed out. In fact, she'd had no idea what she'd been grabbing. Angels didn't have fashion schools and she'd never been particularly well off with her human family, upper middle class at most.

Harry frowned, but didn't contradict her simple statement. It was true that he had more than enough suits to replace this one even if it was torn to pieces. Instead he glanced at the clock. It was half past four which meant in London it was about half past ten. "I'll be back." He said popping out of the study and on to secluded alley in London to go in search of treacle tart.

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**My friend's first comment upon reading that first little section of the chapter was 'Well, that escalated quickly'. XD**

**I hope you guys enjoyed that. I'll be uploading the mini chapter soon. It'll be a small piece that will take place partially in London and partially back at Bobby's. It will introduce a character and an item that readers should be familiar with.**

**I'll be updating erratically now because of my work schedule. Sometimes it'll be fairly quick, like this time. Others might take two or three weeks. Either way no one panic. I won't be throwing in the towel on the story or anything even i there's a really big gap between updates.**

**Well, 'til next time!**

**~Kanathia**


	17. Ch 16: Parva Domum Trinus

Harry cut across the street checking to make sure there were no cars in the immediate vicinity. His destination was a small bakery whose open sign was prominently displayed in the window next to a display of curiously shaped breads and pastries. The door chimed brightly as it opened, alerting the woman running the front counter to the presence of a customer. Her eyes landed on Harry and she smiled in a welcoming way, going back to counting out money for her cash drawer.

Harry perused the front counter looking from one item to the next in an attempt to find the elusive treat he was searching for. He'd been to this bakery before years ago when it was under different management. He hoped the food hadn't changed much.

"How can I help you?" the attendant asked having finally sorted out her drawer.

"You wouldn't happen to have any treacle tart would you?" he said not lifting his eyes to the woman.

"I've got some coming out of the oven in about ten minutes if you want to hang around until then." She offered she glanced at his face and her eyebrows scrunched together. "Have we met before?"

Harry blinked at the unexpected question. "I don't believe so." He said honestly. If he had met the woman he honestly didn't remember her.

"Hmmm…I just feel like I've seen you before or something." She said with a thoughtful frown before she gave him another warm smile.

"I think I'll wait around." Harry said with a nod.

"Is there anything I can get you while you wait?"

"A coffee maybe…"Harry trailed off as she turned to make him a cup. He let his eyes scan over the shop. Racks of fresh breads stood against the walls and the fantastic smell permeated the air.

"Here you go." She said setting the cup down on the counter. "There're a few tables outside if you'd like to have a sit while you wait."

"How much?" Harry said indicating the coffee.

"On the house." She said turning back to her work and leaving him to his drink.

He took up her offer and went outside to sit and watch people passing by. He let himself be distracted by the sounds and sights of city life.

"It's been awhile since I last saw you. Especially around here."

The familiar Irish lilt threw Harry off for a moment, not having expected to hear it. A young man pulled the chair away from the table and sat down working a toothpick in his mouth. "Patrick…" Harry said his small modicum of surprise not really registering in his tone. "I don't usually make trips to London."

"I know. You always preferred Scotland whenever you visited the UK…which was only about twice in all the time I've ever known you." Patrick said with a frown. "What brings you back this time?"

"Nothing important if that's what you're thinking." Harry said taking another sip of his black coffee. It was doing wonders for giving him energy.

Patrick raised his eyebrows. "You're not busy then? That's not really the story that's been floating around about you."

Harry snorted giving Patrick a glance. "What's your rumor mill spouting about me this time? Probably nonsense as usual. You pick the strangest sources."

Patrick shrugged. "You can't take everything they say at face value, but everything they say has a bit of truth behind it." He offered. "From what I've gathered you're hanging out with the Winchesters these days. Interesting blokes; met them a few months back."

Harry raised a brow. "You didn't play one of your games with them, did you?"

"As a matter of fact…" Patrick said with a smile.

Harry groaned. "How many years did they lose?"

Patrick laughed at Harry's exasperation. "Well, at first the older brother, Dean right? He lost about fifty years. He was trying to win back some years for a friend and ended up losing twice the normal amount." He supplied when Harry looked ready to ask about the number. "It was absolutely hilarious. You should have seen."

"Let me guess, their buddy Castiel bailed them out?"

"Nope. They tried to do a spell and reverse the years." Harry looked caught between surprise and amusement. "Obviously it failed, otherwise I wouldn't be having this conversation. Sam tried to buy Dean time for the spell by playing a game. He actually ended up winning. Color me surprised. The guy actually has a decent poker face when he needs it."

Harry looked mildly impressed. He knew how much it took to outplay Patrick. He was a card shark for lack of a better term. He never cheated, but he could read even the most experienced human player. He had had centuries more experience than them after all.

"So what are you doing here?" Harry asked turning his eyes back to the slowly busying street. "I'd heard you made a jump across the pond a while back to skirt some trouble you'd gotten yourself into over here."

"That was nearly fifty years ago!" Patrick said sounding upset Harry had remembered.

Harry shrugged.

"Not all witches operate like me." Patrick huffed and Harry saw him cross his arms and lean back in his chair out of the corner of his eye. "Most of the ones I was having trouble with are either dead or so old they're not a threat anymore."

Harry snorted. "It sounds less like your buddies aged and more like some hunter did you a favor." He paused as if he'd only just realized something. "Where's Lia?"

The mood darkened almost instantly. Harry stopped sipping his coffee glancing over and taking in Patrick's stony silence.

"Hunter?" he asked nonchalantly.

Patrick glared harshly, cheerful demeanor abandoned at Harry's callousness.

"Guess not."

"Sir, it's ready!" the shop attendant said with a bright smile from the front door. Harry stood but Patrick caught his elbow.

"Is it really as bad as everyone's saying it is?" he asked not meeting Harry's eyes.

"What? The 'Apocalypse'?" Harry scoffed. "Well it's not all sunshine and daisies, and it probably means more to you than me."

Patrick gave him a questioning glance, not understanding the comment. Harry didn't bother elaborating on how if the world ended he'd probably be fine while the rest of the souls burned.

"Lia?"

Patrick sighed eyes darting away. His hand slid from Harry's arm.

Harry shrugged starting again for the store to grab his treacle tart.

"She was tired." Harry heard Patrick mostly mutter as the door clanged shut behind him.

"Aren't we all?" Harry said to no one in particular.

Patrick was gone by the time Harry re-emerged from the shop with a large bag of the treat in hand. He shook his head, but didn't fell like waiting around for the man. He figured he'd killed enough time here as it was.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had only been about an hour and a half since he left Bobby's, but when he popped back in the place was a completely different picture to behold than before. It seemed everyone was awake now at a scant six in the morning and they were bustling about like ants under a magnifying glass. His sudden reappearance seemed to upset the activity as Sam, who'd been walking not two feet from where he was now standing dropped a bowl of something he'd been carrying and yelled in surprise. The glass shattering against the floor seemed to bring all the other occupants to a halt as they swiveled in its direction.

"Morning all." Harry said popping a piece of his not so healthy breakfast in his mouth.

"Harry!" Anna came from round the corner looking concerned. "Where have you been? I couldn't find you."

"London." Harry said setting the bag on the table as the humans seemed to slowly come out of their stupor and all seemed to draw in toward him. "There was a nice little shop and I popped in for some nosh. Treacle tart?" He nudged the bag in her direction.

She was giving him an incredulous look. "You were gone for an hour and a half to London to get sweets?"

"Did I not just explain that?" Harry asked eyebrows raised.

"Why?" Ellen cut in sounding more disbelieving than Anna, and perhaps a little offended if truth be told.

Harry shrugged. "Is there a reason everyone appears to be on edge? You really should do more to relax. Stress does terrible things to the skin."

"Well for starters you were just possessed by the biggest douchebag in the world and we had to kill you to get rid of him." Dean said snidely having leant against the doorframe opposite of Harry's position.

"Who? Lucifer? Douchebag, yes. Biggest douchebag in the world? Probably not."

"He's the devil!" Sam shot back as if that answered everything.

Harry shrugged. "Regardless…I'm fine."

"Good, then I won't feel bad about this." Ellen said all of two seconds before she attempted to slap him.

He pulled back in time to avoid his left cheek coming into contact with her hand. "What was that for?"

"You take my recently injured daughter into the past to stop a murderous angel without even so much as a heads up and you're wondering why I tried to hit you? What are you, dense?!"

"Oh please, she's at least in her early to mid twenties by now. She's an adult. I trusted she could make her own decisions. Besides, she insisted." Harry tottered to a chair completely ignoring the fuming Ellen. He didn't fail to grab the bag of his sweets first though.

"You're sure it's…he's gone." Anna asked pointing to her own head indicatively.

Harry stared at her for a moment chewing. "I'm not sure how many times you intend to ask me variants of that same question."

"Well all we've got right now is your word and it's not much to go on." Sam replied hesitantly.

Harry leaned forward fixing the tall man with a piercing gaze. "You're right. All you have to go on is my word. There's no way for me to prove Lucifer's not directing every syllable I'm speaking right now. We've come to the conclusion now that, regardless of anything we do, the situation must rest as it is. So what's the point in worrying about it?"

"Well we don't know if _Lucifer is talking through you_." Dean quipped back. "I'd say finding some way to prove he's not there would be a good idea. It's not something we can ignore just because you said to."

"I hate to admit it…but Dean's right." Bobby said gruffly. Dean looked, at first, smug at the agreement. Then, ready to object at the way Bobby had phrased it when he worked out the insult.

"I'm sure it's not something you have to concede often." Harry said leaning back and fixing Dean with a smirk. "However unless you've a…"

He stopped midsentence making everyone glance about in worry.

"Harry?" Anna asked from her spot near the door.

"I've had an idea." Harry said seeming to snap out of his daze. He twirled his finger in the air and there was a slight shimmer in front of him before a small bottle that looked to be filled with something remarkably like water appeared. He grasped the bottle with three fingers giving it a stare.

"And that is?" Ellen asked eying the bottle skeptically.

"Veritaserum." Harry supplied lowering the bottle and fixing them whole lot of them with a measuring look. "Very rare. Very expensive. _Very_ valuable."

"That's nice." Bobby said eying the bottle. "But what does it do? I assume it doesn't make you smell nice or you wouldn't have bothered magicking it up."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Veritaserum is a truth potion Mr. Singer. The strongest truth potion I've ever had the pleasure of coming into contact with."

"I've never heard of it." Bobby replied with a scowl.

"You wouldn't have." Harry sniffed. "Most of the ingredients used in its creation don't exist anymore. One of the reasons it's so valuable."

"So…what? We're supposed to take your word that some random bottle of liquid is really truth serum and if you take it and tell us Lucifer smoked out you're telling the truth." Dean, ever the half-witted skeptic bit out.

"Essentially, yes." Harry said with a smug smile. "But you don't have to take my word for it. We could use a small dose on someone else and have them reveal something they'd rather keep secret. You'll find it's not easy to keep quiet under veritaserum's influences."

"Sounds good to me." Bobby admitted eying the bottle more appreciatively now.

Sam shrugged. "We don't really have much other choice." He added when Dean seemed ready to shoot the idea down again. "I can't think of anything off the top of my head that would make him tell the truth or be able to check for Lucifer's presence."

"Fantastic." Harry said with a smile. "Who'd like to be the guinea pig then?"

Everyone shared nervous glances.

"How long does it last?" Bobby asked.

"Anywhere from fifteen to twenty minutes for the small bit I'll be giving you." Harry said with a smile that wasn't at all disarming. "Once I've given it to you it's best to ask a few test questions to make sure it's kicked in. Try to lie as best you can."

"Alright." Bobby said with a shrug. "I'll do it."

Sam opened his mouth as Bobby sat down in a chair across from Harry. Harry stood and removed an eye dropper from his pocket uncapping the vial. "Say ah." Bobby opened his mouth and Harry let a single drop of the potion fall onto the man's tongue. Bobby grimaced obviously expecting a bad taste, but none came. Harry knew the potion to be tasteless.

Rather than an objection Sam said the first thing on his mind. "Why do you have an eyedropper in your pocket?"

Harry sent him an annoyed glare even though Sam felt it was a reasonable question. He recapped the vial and placed it in Sam's outstretched hands reluctantly. He shared a serious look with him ignoring the previous query. "Don't spill it." He turned back to Bobby and grabbed a completely black pen from the side table retaking his seat. "What color is this pen?"

Bobby's eyes focused on the pen. "Purple." Bobby said with relative ease.

Dean snorted. "Obv-"

Harry raised a finger to shush the Winchester. "What time is it?" he asked, knowing the clock was on the wall behind him.

"S-seven." Bobby stuttered out.

Harry glanced at the clock. 6:15. "What year is Dean's car?"

"How should I know?" Bobby said irritably.

Harry rolled his eyes. Fair enough. Still the fact that he hadn't spurted some random year meant the potion was probably worming its way in. "How many people are in the room?"

"Six."

Harry spotted Dean counting everyone in the room to make sure Bobby hadn't simply miscounted and tried to lie with the right number or something. Harry just grinned. He held up the pen again. "What color is this pen?"

"Black." Bobby said looking absolutely stunned that he was saying it.

"You can't lie right now Bobby?" Sam asked stepping forward.

Bobby shook his head. "It works."

"Do you really watch those daytime talk shows I always walk in on you watching in the afternoon?" Dean asked looking quite happy to abuse his power.

"Yes." Bobby said looking absolutely livid as he answered.

"What's your favorite color?" Dean burst out again absolutely amused by the whole situation.

"Red."

"Was it you who took Sam's football when we were kids even though you told Sam he'd probably misplaced it? You know he always swore I took it."

"Yes. It had a hole in it." Bobby said angrier with each answer.

"Told you!" Dean said smugly to Sam who had the confused look on his face that told Harry he had no idea which football Dean was talking about.

"You realize the truth serum does nothing to restrain him right?" Harry offered the jubilant Winchester. Dean stopped asking questions. "Now…before I take the serum I'd like to point out that a repeat of what just happened could cost someone a limb if they piss me off too much. I wouldn't recommend prying too much. Ask what you need to and leave it at that."

Sam uncorked the vial and got a bit in the eyedropper just as Harry had done. In seconds Harry was dosed with the stuff as well and he and Bobby sat idly for a second waiting for it to kick in.

"What's the color of the sky?" Sam asked trying to do what Harry had done.

"Magenta." Harry said taking a bite of his tart.

"Right…er…What's four times four?"

"Seventeen."

"What's your name?"

"Harry James Potter." Harry said blinking owlishly when the right answer came out.

"Are you lying?" Sam said sharing an unsure look with Dean.

"Nope." Harry said with a grin.

"What color are your eyes?" Ellen threw in obviously spotting that Harry's denial could itself be a lie.

"Green."

"Alright…" Sam said nodding. "We have to ask you something you wouldn't want to answer correctly in order to see if you're lying?"

"Yes." Harry said still truthful though he grew suspicious at the look the brothers shared.

A long beat of silence passed through the room as the Winchesters shared a knowing look before Dean stepped forward. "Why was your world destroyed?"

Harry felt the niggling sensation of the potion trying to wheedle the truth from him. He fixed Dean with an icy glare and grit his teeth together to delay the inevitable. "Because…of...me…" he said barely audible but in the quiet room he knew they all had heard him.

"Is Lucifer controlling your mind?" Sam said trying to hurry Harry away from his previous answer.

"No." Harry answered clearly still glaring daggers at them.

"Is Lucifer in your mind right now?"

"No." Harry replied again. "And I suggest you end your survey there."

"Just one more." Sam said and Harry could see a spark of something in his eyes that hadn't been there before; contempt…pity maybe? "Do you really intend to help us save this world? You're not just saying that to get on our side and try to kill us or something?"

"Yes."

"Yes to which?"

"I intend to save this world."

Sam heaved a sigh as if a certain load had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Are you quite done?" Harry asked glaring. When Sam nodded Harry held out his hand for the veritaserum. Sam reluctantly placed it in the outstretched palm. "Well…you've ruined my good mood."

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	18. Ch 17: Et Ligaturae, Obsides

**The last 'chapter' was sort like the beginning of this one. I wasn't quite done writing this one but I wanted to give you two chapters so I just cut off a chunk of it. Saying all that was sort of a prefix to telling you that this one picks up precisely where the other ends. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Well…you've ruined my good mood."

"Ruined your good mood?" Dean scoffed. "When are you ever in a good mood?"

"Usually, when I'm not surrounded by prying idiots." Harry answered truthfully but he could feel the veritaserum's effects ebbing already. "So it's no surprise you don't see my good moods more often."

"I guess that means he really does think you're an idiot." Bobby supplied looking half amused half wary.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Sam laughed.

"Well at least I'm not stupid enough to have gotten everyone I know killed." Dean said heatedly obviously without thought.

The Winchester had said and done a lot of stupid things in Harry's presence, but that one sentence tipped the scale. Harry's eyes flashed as they turned to the older Winchester.

"Are you trying to imply something?" he seethed fixing Dean with a glare and rising from his seat.

Never one to back down from an obvious challenge Dean bristled. "Well you must have done something stupid if you got your whole world destroyed. The angels probably had to clean up after you."

"Clean up?" Harry's vice was low. "Genocide is 'cleaning up'? They killed women, _children_. Whole families, a whole civilization wiped from the map. Do you want to know why Winchester?! Not because I'd done anything noteworthy! Because I existed! Do you know what it's like to watch everything you know and love _burn?_" Harry slammed Dean into the wall. Sam moved to help his brother but was flung backwards by a wave of power from the angry wizard. He hit Bobby's desk with a grunt of pain. "You have_ no idea_ what I've been through. Your weak, pathetic human mind couldn't begin to imagine it."

Dean tried to glare as best he could while dangling uselessly from Harry's hand with no air supply. Needless to say it was less than impressive. Ellen made to step forward from where she had been standing back against the opposite wall but Anna stopped her with a shake of her head and a hand on her arm. Ellen was of the mind that Dean had most definitely said something terrible and deserved some roughing up for it, but she wouldn't let the guy die right in front of her while doing nothing. She made to shake Anna's hand off, but found it more difficult than she would have thought.

"Put the kid down." Bobby said leveling a shotgun at Harry. He knew the gun would do next to nothing but he wasn't just going to sit there while Dean asphyxiated.

Harry did more than just let Dean go. He half threw him in Bobby's direction. Dean hit the floor hard and began choking on air trying to refill his abused lungs. "Consider yourself lucky. If I didn't need you alive to make sure the angels didn't try a plan 'b' I'd have killed you by now."

Harry strode from the room silently leaving five pairs of eyes watching an empty doorway.

"Fuck he has a strong grip." Dean rasped from the floor massaging his throat.

"You idiot." Ellen said smacking the back of Dean's head now that Anna had released her. She turned back to see Anna watching the doorway with a conflicted gaze.

"Why am I an idiot!?" Dean objected.

"Well for starters you provoked someone you knew could kill you." Sam said with a roll of his eyes and he pulled himself from the floor with a wince. Oh yeah…that was definitely going to bruise.

"His entire world was destroyed kid!" Ellen cut in. "Don't you think he lost quite a bit because of that?"

Dean said nothing, obviously _not_ having thought about it.

"Anna?" Sam had turned to the angel and found her glaring at his brother.

"You couldn't have said many things worse." Anna supplied heatedly.

"Were you there when it happened?" Sam asked eyes wide. They'd had another angel around them for a while and had learned hardly anything about Harry. Maybe she wouldn't be as tightlipped on the subject as Castiel was.

She shook her head. "No, only the archangels had been created back then. But being one of the few squads allowed to come to Earth I learned a lot about Harry and the purge."

"The purge?"

"He had a family. They were killed…mercilessly. Small children, no older than twelve or thirteen. It was cruel." She spoke with venom about the attack for obvious reasons, but her own personal experience with heaven gave even more weight to the words. "The archangels were supposed to wipe out all the wizards. Just the wizards, because God felt that they were becoming too strong. He thought they were over reaching their bounds, and it's best to remove a vine before it can strangle the tree."

* * *

"About damned time!" Gabriel said arms crossed as he stood near the doorway watching Harry check on the sleeping Jesse. Harry had simply appeared out of nowhere several minutes ago fuming but unwilling to speak. Gabriel did the only thing he knew how to do to diffuse the situation, talk. "I was starting to think you guys were trying to be clever and pull one over on me. Honestly, leaving me here with a kid? What were you thinking? It's surprising the universe didn't rip itself apart in protest."

"I was thinking that maybe a favor every once in a while wouldn't be a big deal." Harry said levelly. It had only been hours since he'd woken up and after his little Q and A with the Winchesters he'd come straight here. Honestly he felt Gabriel had gotten the better end of the deal. He would much rather have spent time in a quiet house relaxing.

Gabriel snorted but said nothing more about it. "So where's Anna?"

"Keeping an eye on the Winchesters I suppose." Harry replied taking a seat on the plush arm chair. "Those idiots will probably go back out to look for hunts. They want to play hero again and no advice I give them is going to change that. At least this gets them out of my hair for a while."

"Speaking of hunts…" Gabriel said with a grin.

"What?" Harry said raising an eyebrow. He didn't like Gabriel's tone.

"Well, I've got one or two that might interest you."

"I doubt it..."

"Well for one, I have reliable information that Famine is on the move."

Harry shrugged. "I already have a bargaining chip for Death's ring. I hardly need another. The rings appear to be of equal worth."

"True…"

"How did you know Famine was on the move?"

"Reports of couples eating each other and other stuff like that; his usual MO, not that you care to pay attention to it most of the time."

"If I got riled up every time there was an apocalypse I'd hardly have any energy left to carry on doing anything."

Gabriel snorted in amusement.

"What other hunt did you think would interest me? You mentioned more than one."

"Well there might have been word that your favorite demon is making moves in the world to clarify his place in hell should Lucifer take an untimely plunge."

"My favorite demon?" Harry asked raising his eyebrows.

"Crowley." Gabriel spat the name with distaste. Harry knew the two must have some history because though angels were bred to hate demons for their twisted nature Gabriel generally went out of his way to do anything that went against angel standards.

"I don't particularly care what he does, as long as he doesn't expect my help with it. The little prat likes to play high and mighty but we all know only the demon with the biggest stick gets to rule hell and he can only fake his way to the top for so long."

Gabriel snorted. He wasn't sure why Harry was being even more cynical than usual, but he found it amusing. There was truth in Harry's assessment of course. Demons like Abaddon were most definitely stronger than Crowley when it came to down to base strength. Crowley just had more brain power and better management skills on his side.

"Harry?" Jesse's voice asked tiredly. The kid had obviously just woken up.

"Good morning Jesse." Harry said with a sigh rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Morning kid." Gabriel said with a lazy half wave.

Jesse glared in Gabriel's direction for a split second before turning to Harry. Obviously the two hadn't gotten along famously in Harry's absence. "Does this mean I'll get to see my mom now?"

Harry nodded distractedly. "Soon. I just need to arrange a new place for you two to disappear to and then you should be all set to meet up with her." Harry supplied. "I take it the last few days went well?"

"They were okay." Jesse said guardedly.

"He's not dead!" Gabriel replied obviously thinking Harry was questioning his ability to keep the kid alive even if he had made a joke to the contrary earlier.

"I'd noticed."

"I know I can't see her yet…" Jesse butted in. "But can I talk to her? On a phone or something?"

Harry raised a brow. "I don't see why not. Not for very long though I'm afraid. The person who runs the shelter where I sent her is absolutely paranoid so I doubt she'll let me keep your mother on the phone for long."

Jesse nodded eagerly.

Harry dialed a number into his mobile and waited as the line rung twice. He hit the disconnect button and redialed. There was a click on the other end on the third ring. "Alpha, frog, green, scooter, radio." Harry supplied. It was a string of gibberish that was intended to be his personalized password. Harry thought it ridiculous but apparently some of his contacts disagreed with the assessment. He glanced up to see Gabriel giving him a look like he'd lost his marbles. Well apparently the angel concurred with Harry on this one.

"_What do you need Potter?_" an irritated woman asked from the other end of the connection.

"Two minutes on the phone with Mrs. Turner."

"_Not possible."_

"Why is that?"

"_She's not here."_

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, eyes narrowing.

"_Some guy came by to get her. Said you sent him. He had the passwords."_

"Five seconds Ladia. I think we're about to have this conversation in person." Harry took the phone away from his ear and sent Gabriel a serious look. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"What's going on?" Jesse asked a bit paler than usual.

"I'm not entirely sure." Harry answered truthfully. Sugar coating it wouldn't solve anything. "I'm going to find out."

In a second he was standing somewhere entirely different. Rural Idaho stretched to either side of the complex in front of him. Trees were sparse here and the sound of crickets was everywhere. He rapped three times on the door in front of him. A small section slid to the side revealing a familiar set of eyes before sliding back into place as he heard a loud groan.

The door opened to reveal a slightly heavier woman about five foot four with short cropped brown hair and a scowl that spoke miles about her displeasure upon seeing Harry's face. "What do you want?"

"Well…correct me if I'm wrong here…but I was under the impression that you ran a secure area for people to hide."

"Oh come off it Potter!" she said loudly. "They had the passwords and she wasn't exactly putting up a fight. What was I supposed to do? Lock her in a room and tell her she had to stay anyway? I run a hideout not a prison. She had the right to leave with anyone she wanted to."

"Show me the tapes." Harry said moving to go past Ladia into the control room.

"Not a chance in hell." She spat back her arm bumping his chest to keep him back.

Harry slammed the woman into the door with one arm. He heard her gasp for breath under his hold. "You let a woman who knows nothing of our world walk into possibly hostile hands and I didn't even warrant a phone call?" he hissed. "I am not in the mood to play your games today Ladia. So I suggest you let. Me. In. The. Room."

She glared back defiantly, but when he released her she opened the door and left it open behind her for him to follow. Inside was a dimly lit control center. About ten monitors were lined up in neat rows flashing different visuals. There was a computer off to the side along with a large filing cabinet absolutely packed with neatly organized flash drives. Hundreds of the things were organized by date and time. Ladia pulled a drawer open and rifled past a few folders before she pulled one and grabbed a specific jump drive from one of the small pouches. It was labeled '_camera 10_' in hasty writing. She plugged it in to the computer and began to flip through the time. Harry had no doubt that Ladia remembered the precise date and time the men had shown up, especially if she'd found them suspicious. As she undoubtedly had, finding a majority of the human populace suspicious. She'd once run a background check on a mailman because he'd lingered too long near her mailbox.

"There." She said pausing the video and allowing Harry to move forward. She flicked through the video frame by frame until Harry stopped her staring at the face of the man farthest from the camera which just happened to be tilted back enough to have been caught perfectly. "You know them?"

Harry glared at the screen. "Yes…" His eyes flicked to Ladia. "Didn't you think it would be wise to at least splash a little holy water on them?"

Now she looked a bit nervous. She mumbled something but Harry was too preoccupied trying to figure out why staring back at him from the screen was Crowley.

* * *

"Man…you get mixed up in some weird stuff." Gabriel said leaning against the doorway as Harry stormed back and forth in his office waiting for Crowley to answer his rather irritated summons. They'd been in this position for nigh on two weeks now. Harry didn't even stop pacing to eat.

Harry turned long enough to shoot him a withering glare before he continuing on his path.

"Morning." Harry spun at the nonchalant tone to see Crowley in the corner seemingly without a care in the world. "You rang?"

Harry's eyes narrowed and he slammed a still shot from the video down on his desk. "You seem to have taken something that doesn't belong to you again." Harry seethed. He had a very upset cambion on his hands and if Harry didn't find Mrs. Turner soon Jesse was liable to go out looking on his own.

Crowley took two steps forward and slid the paper to a better angle for him. He didn't seem worried at all. "Ah…"

"Ah? That's it?" Gabriel snorted from the corner.

"Do you want to explain why you took her from the safe house?" Harry asked eying the demon with distaste. "Then you can rectify your mistake by returning her…now."

"I was doing you a favor." Crowley offered and both Harry and the bystander Gabriel snorted this time. Crowley raised a brow. "Lucifer knew where you'd hidden her. Leeched it right out of your head without you being any the wiser. It's a bit hard to bat off mental attacks when you're in the middle of being mind fucked though…I'll give you that. But it doesn't change the fact that you dropped the ball on this one."

"Where is she?"

"Safe…somewhere else this time. I can give the coordinates if you'd like. Maybe your pet would like to wing his way over and grab her?"

Gabriel bristled.

Harry's eyes narrowed taking in Crowley's demeanor. "No…if you were just going to give me her location you would've done it by now. You want something."

"Just a tiny favor." Crowley admitted with a shrug. "A bit of quid pro quo. Or you can call it insurance if you want."

"What do you want Crowley?" Harry snapped.

"What everyone else wants luv. A piece of the pie. You're not the only one who'd like to see Lucifer locked back in that box for eternity."

"Perhaps, but I haven't exactly seen you jumping through hoops to make it happen."

"I prefer to keep my work low key. I've already got all of hell on my back. What do you want me to do waltz down main street with anti-Lucifer campaign stickers?"

"How do we know this isn't some sort of trick?" Gabriel bit back. "You could just be trying to wheedle your way in so you can go running to Lucifer first chance you get and tell him everything."

"Come on…do I seem the subservient type?"

Harry simply raised an eyebrow. "You're the type who looks out for yourself first and foremost."

"And you're any different?" Crowley half muttered.

"What I'm trying to figure out is why you're not sucking up to Lucifer. You certainly have the influence and means to get on his good side."

Crowley scoffed. "Lucifer hates humans. So what do you think he thinks of us?"

"Demons start off as humans and then their souls are twisted and perverted into what they are. They're so far gone from the supposed purity of angels I suppose it is a bit surprising that someone like Lucifer could create you in the first place." Harry conceded. "So, what? You think he'll turn on hell once he's finished reshaping Earth into his own personal Disneyland?"

"Exactly." Crowley said with an annoyed glint in his eyes despite the smile on his face.

"Still, you're not being very clear on what you gain from helping." Harry focusing back on the real problem. "Lucifer's going to end up back in his box with or without you. You're trying to aim for something more."

Crowley held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. "No fooling you is there?"

"What do you want Crowley?"

"Thing is," Crowley started, meandering around the room slowly. "Even after old Lucy's gone someone has to take over the hot box. Now, there are quite a few contenders but I'm thinking, with a bit of strong arming, I might just be able to nudge my way in there."

"You want to be king of hell?" Gabriel asked with a mocking laugh.

"Why not? I hear the company benefits are great."

"I'm sure they are. Where exactly do we come in? Last I checked I don't exactly hold much sway over the goings on in hell. Nor do they hold me in particularly high regard."

"Friends in high places can get your foot in a lot of doors. You'd be surprised."

"I'm sure I wouldn't." Harry said rubbing the bridge of his nose. "And I really doubt it's as straight forward as you're making it sound right now."

"Come on." Crowley said sounding offended. "I scratched your back, you scratch mine."

"Was that supposed to make us want to help?" Gabriel asked scathingly.

Crowley looked ready to argue with the angel on the subject, but Harry interrupted. "I haven't got time to argue this out with you." He said glaring at the demon. "Take me to her and perhaps, just perhaps, I might think about doing you a favor in the future. Keep standing around talking like you are and I might decide my chances of finding her are better on my own."

Crowley took a second to judge how serious Harry's words were before shrugging. He apparently found truth to them because a second later he was motioning for Harry to follow.

* * *

Harry and Crowley landed on the flat even ground of an empty parking lot. The rush of wings behind them was the only clue that Gabriel had decided to follow. Several paces away was an old motel, obviously long abandoned.

Harry glanced around taking in the decrepit building and utter silence with unease. "Don't you have guards?"

"Of course I have guards!" Crowley snapped back, but it lacked venom. He seemed to have caught the stillness in the air also. He led way toward the broken sidewalk in front of the building and approached the room with the number nineteen hanging from rusty nails. No one approached them.

Without a word Crowley shoved open the door. It met resistance halfway open and stopped with a thud. In the moonlight streaming in from outside they could see a crumpled body. Harry shoved past Crowley pushing the door all the way open and snapping his fingers so the room was illuminated by a ball of light of his own making. Three bodies lay in different areas of the room, obviously having put up some resistance before going out, and these didn't look like exorcised bodies either. Thankfully Jesse's mother was not among the deceased.

"Hunters." Gabriel said kneeling next to the man at the door and examining a stab wound.

"You can consider that favor gone Crowley." Harry growled kicking one of the bodies in frustration. "In fact, if she's dead you can consider a lot more than the favor gone."

Crowley was wise enough to hightail it out of there before the threat was even finished. Harry had turned back to spot the room empty where Crowley had been standing.

"Well at least it wasn't Lucifer." Gabriel muttered more to break the silence than to reassure Harry or himself. But it was true. They had a much higher chance of finding her if she was with hunters.

Harry grunted in acceptance of his words but feeling as if he might start spouting profanities if he were to speak.

"Oh you're not going to believe this." Gabriel said standing up and holding a leather cord out in front of himself. Dangling from the end was a very familiar amulet.

Harry blinked taking the piece from Gabriel. It was small and golden and looked like a strange cross between a tiki mask and a badly carved lizard. "The Winchesters." He whispered recognizing the amulet as the one Dean normally wore around his neck. He'd never witnessed the man remove it before and was honestly surprised it was there for them to find at all. He had learned at least some of the significance behind the piece when he'd read their files. If Dean had left it here it meant he'd either cut ties to his brother, or he had yet to realize its absence.

"I guess we know where to look next then." Gabriel said with a grin.

* * *

Harry made short work of finding the Winchesters. He wished he could track them down the way he had in the past, by simply feeling their energy, but now that they were back in their correct time period their energy signature no longer stuck out like they had. Still, having acquired their cell numbers from a skeptical Bobby, and knowing that Dean had used the GPS feature to track down his brother before, he simply had the people at their cell company activate the feature and apparated to the town they were stopped in. Whether they were there for a hunt or just to rest the night he was unsure.

It was a medium sized town. Not too large population, just big enough to have a sleazy motel on its outskirts. It was obvious where the brothers had chosen to stay. It was easy to track them down when they had such a noticeable pattern so he wasn't about to complain about their less than reputable accommodations. He walked alone toward the two rooms the Impala was angled at. He had sent Gabriel to check up on Jesse with directions not to lie to the kid, but to give off a sense that all would be fine.

He stopped at room number eleven and waited a moment outside of the door. It held a single occupant, sleeping from the sound of the breathing. Harry moved on with a shake of his head. The Winchesters didn't get separate rooms. It was too large a liability to be alone when you had as many enemies as they did. So when Harry stopped outside of number twelve and felt three people inside he knocked almost immediately hope and a modicum of relief seeping into him.

Instantly there was a fair amount of shuffling within. Cautious footsteps approached the door. Swear words met the air when the person realized the peephole had been painted over at some point. The door groaned slightly and Dean's face appeared in the crack. Under other circumstances Harry probably would have been amused the surprise on Dean's face. Right now he felt more like punching the man. "Winchester." Harry greeted with an annoyed glare.

"The hell are you doing here?" Dean asked opening the door only a little further. "Better yet, how did you find us this time? We ditched those little cards you put on us…and Anna." He seemed to tack Anna's name on as an afterthought.

"Not important." Harry said forcing his way past the man quite easily. Admittedly , Dean didn't put up much of a fight though. Sitting on the furthest bed clutching a gun like a life line was Sam. His grip seemed to relax slightly at the sight of their guest.

"Harry?" Sam said disbelievingly. "Why're you here?"

"I came to return something." He replied, eyes finding the third room's occupant. She was curled up on the bed sleeping and somehow none of the noise had woken her.

"Return something?" Dean asked sounding pissy as he closed the door. Probably because Harry had answered Sam's question but not his.

Harry let the balled up pendant fall from his hand and swing on the end of its cord, drawing both brothers' attention. Dean's hand immediately reached for his neck.

"How did you get that?!" Dean snarled trying, and failing, to snatch it from Harry.

"You dropped it…I assume." He replied calmly before extending his hand and letting Dean take the necklace. "I found it in an abandoned motel about sixty miles West of here…along with three dead demons."

"We found them by chance." Sam said nodding, eyes darting to the necklace then back to Harry. "We were in the area on a hunt when we saw one of them bringing food back to a car. We figured out afterward it was for her." He nodded to the sleeping figure.

"Yes, that's probably right." Harry conceded before stepping forward and nudging the woman.

"What're you doing?" Sam asked, standing to stop Harry if he needed to. "We already questioned her. She has no idea why they were keeping her there."

The woman stirred, turning over and opening bleary, bloodshot eyes. She let out a squeak at the sight of Harry and scrambled backwards nearly toppling from the bed. Clearly she recognized him from the hectic day in the warehouse.

"Good evening Mrs. Turner." Harry said taking a seat in one of the uncomfortable motel chairs and drawing it closer to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

It seemed every one of the others was caught off guard by not only the question, but the almost sincere level of concern in his tone. As it was, Harry knew it sounded just a bit forced.

"A bit off." She answered shakily. "Where is my son?"

"Somewhere safe, waiting for you." Harry said casually. "I'm going to take you to him but first I need you to go to sleep for a bit." Without waiting for her consent Harry reached forward and tapped her on the forehead. She went lax slipping further down on the mattress.

"What'd you do that for?" Dean said angrily.

"One moment." Harry raised a finger cutting off any rant Dean might have been about to have. He placed his fingers on each side of her forehead. Immediately thoughts and images flashed through his mind. He sifted through her recent memories searching for any kind of tampering. Then he searched her mind for anything else that might have been done by Lucifer or the demons who'd been guarding her. Finding no evidence of any harm he chose details and began to erase or rewrite them. He took most of her memories from the waystation leaving only a vague memory of a kidnapping gone wrong. He took anything involving magic or demons. If Jesse wanted his mother to know he'd have to explain it himself when he was older. Next were the memories of the Winchester's questioning session. He left just enough of the truth to start fabricating a lie. When she woke she would think Harry was the lead detective of her witness protection case. It would be much easier to have her assume a new identity on her own than to try to convince her she was an entirely different person.

He leaned back, releasing her head with a sigh.

"I take it you know her." Sam said watching the woman sleep with renewed interest.

"I think that's obvious." Harry said standing and brushing invisible lint from his pant. "It is a relief to have finally found her."

"Well?" Dean asked impatiently. "Who is she? Ad why was she with a bunch of demons?"

"This." Harry gestured to the woman. "Is Jesse's mother." Harry'd only just realized that the Winchesters had never seen Jesse's adoptive parents as they'd both been sleeping.

"Jesse?" Sam mimicked staring at the woman. "As in 'the kid who turned practical jokes lethal' Jesse?"

"The one and only." Harry confirmed. "She was actually in a secure facility in Idaho until Crowley decided to 'do me a favor'. It's surprising he even found demons willing to help him all things considered."

"All things considered?"

"Word got out that he's not a big fan of Lucifer. Turns out Lucifer's not jumping on the Crowley bandwagon either. Pretty much all of hell has their eye out for him right now. If he's not more careful they're going to find him too."

"You sound almost worried." Dean snorted.

Harry was starting to grow annoyed with his defensive behavior. It was obvious that Dean was trying to convince himself he'd said nothing wrong to Harry last time they'd met. "I'm hardly worried about Crowley. More about the things he could spill about under the right influence. Lucifer is strong enough without getting his hands on some of the stuff I know Crowley has ferreted away."

"Like what?"

"Like warding sigils and cursed items. He collects anything he thinks he might need down the road. Especially if he thinks he won't be able to find it again easily."

Sam and Dean shared a glance that Harry didn't like. "Like this?" Sam asked sliding a picture his way across the comforter. They'd obviously been discussing its contents before he showed up. He lifted the enlarged picture curiously.

The image detailed a pendant. At first it seemed completely average, just an overlarge piece of amethyst attached to a silver chain. Then Harry caught sight of a symbol set in the middle. It was simply a carved out section of the stone so it was difficult to see, but Harry sure it was the symbol of Ankh. "Where did you find this?"

"It popped up about three days ago when we were looking into something." Sam supplied with a frown.

"Story goes it went missing hundreds of years ago from some pharaoh's grave but it turned up a few days ago near Indiana." Dean filled in.

"And?" Harry asked blandly.

"And?" Dean repeated nonplussed.

"If that's all there is to it I doubt it would have caught your attention. You hardly seem the art collecting type."

"Well, get this, people start coming back to life two days after it gets stolen from a secure van. Police don't know who lifted it or how. It was just there one minute and gone the next."

"Define 'coming back to life'." Harry said, eyes narrowing.

"One guy gets nailed by a car, ends up in a morgue. Next day rolls around and he's on his feet walking out."

"Pretty similar to what you do honestly." Sam added.

"That sounds…problematic."

The Winchesters nodded. It wasn't the people living that was the problem. It was that whatever brought them back might have done it for more sinister purposes than just allowing them to live. "Do you recognize the piece? It's not from your storage units is it?" Sam asked curiously.

Harry shook his head. "Nope, not this one." He folded the picture and tucked it into his jacket pocket. "Give me a few hours and I'll see what I can dig up. Right now I need to return Mrs. Turner to her son before he tries to come and find her himself." He reached forward to lift the woman only for Sam to halt his progress. Harry raised an inquisitive but slightly annoyed eyebrow.

"There's um…something else you should know."

"Which is?"

"Well…Death…might have left a message."

"A message?"

Sam nodded. "We think it was a warning mostly. To Bobby…and us. But then there was this weird thing that happened…"

"How did he get a message to you in the first place? I doubt he wrote you a letter."

"He…well, he started bringing people back to life. People in Sioux Falls."

"Is that how you found this case?" Dean and Sam both nodded. "Go on."

"Well, he brought back Bobby's wife."

Harry blinked and bother brothers could have sworn he paled a bit in the dim light.

"Apparently right before she…passed on she said something odd."

"Odd how?"

"It made no sense." Sam supplied fishing out a wrinkled sheet of paper. "Bobby wrote it down. He thought it might be code of some sort, but he can't make heads or tails of it." He held out the paper to Harry who unfolded it.

'**The boy who lived, savior of none. A debt must be repaid.'** Was scribbled in Bobby's handwriting.

Harry blinked down at the paper. There was no doubt the message had been meant for him. No one from this world would know that title. The question was whose debt was it referring to?

"Do you understand it?" Sam asked hopefully.

"Not a word." Harry lied easily slipping the paper back over to Sam who seemed to have deflated a bit. "I'll be in touch."

He lifted Mrs. Turned from the bed and turned, disappearing from the room and leaving the brothers to the conversation they were bound to have the moment he was gone.

* * *

Sam stared at the pendant that sat on the small bedside table. Dean had placed it there shortly after Harry had left and he hadn't touched it since.

Sam had been surprised to see the trinket. Not as surprised as Dean had been of course. Dean didn't know he'd swiped the thing from the trashcan in that motel room after their trip to heaven. If he had he probably would have objected. Perhaps it hadn't been his place, but Sam had felt like his brother would regret throwing away the amulet later so he'd grabbed it. Maybe one day he'd regain his brother's trust enough that Dean would re-don the gift. He hoped that day came soon.

Sam thought he'd lost the thing for good when he hadn't found it in his pocket when they got back to the motel. It must have fallen out at some point during the fighting. He'd almost wanted to hop in the impala and drive back to look for it but he knew Dean would be far too suspicious of the actions and a suspicious Dean wasn't fun to be around. Speaking of which, Dean was throwing him glances from his place by the guns. Sam had avoided the topic of the amulet earlier by quickly asking Dean if he was hungry the moment he'd sensed the man was going to ask about it. Now he had no such diversion as Dean currently had an entire pie next to him.

Thankfully Dean was the talking type so the subject hadn't been broached for at least this long. "Why did Harry find the amulet at the demon hideout?" Dean asked bluntly.

So much for subterfuge. "Hmm?" Sam hummed hoping his brother would drop it if he pretended not to have heard the question.

"Why did Harry find the amulet at the demon hideout?" Dean asked again just as calmly. He had indeed been surprised to see the necklace. He thought he'd rid himself of it. It reminded him as much of 'God's' apathy as his brother's recent shortcomings lately.

He'd snatched the thing from Harry on instinct before he'd even thought it through. He'd even reached for his neck where the familiar weight had been missing for some time. After he'd had it in his hand he felt the urge to drop it just as quickly, but he'd fought the impulse.

He glanced up to his brother measuring the amount of hesitance in his eyes. It was secret keeping that had led to Dean's dismissal of Sam in the first place. Did Sam really think holding back information was a good idea at this point?

"I… might have been holding on to it…" Sam admitted not really meeting Dean's eyes.

"Sam…" Dean said irritation evident.

"You dropped it in a trashcan Dean. It's not like you were going to use it any more. I thought it might be useful." Sam lied.

Dean studied for a bit longer, but the conversation died there. Dean wasn't an idiot. He knew Sam had grabbed the amulet for more reasons than he was admitting to.

Instead they both focused in on the more important problem, Death's message.

* * *

The scene Harry apparated into might have been funnier if it wasn't in danger of turning more volatile. Jesse had somehow managed to pin Gabriel to the floor and was keeping a chocolate bar just out of his reach. This might have seemed like a simple game of keep away if the kid wasn't crying and seemingly about ready to explode at the angry angel.

"Gabriel?" Harry said, unable to keep the amused note from his voice. He lowered the woman in his arms to the couch.

Both heads flipped in his direction. Jesse dropped the chocolate bar and flung himself at the couch. "Mom!" he cried out clutching her close. When she didn't reply, or even stir, he turned guarded eyes to Harry. "What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing." Harry placated. "She's just sleeping. I'll wake her in a minute."

"What took you?" Gabriel asked sulkily. He had refused to touch the chocolate bar now laying on the floor and had, instead, conjured a new one.

Harry shrugged. "Winchesters."

Gabriel nodded knowingly.

"Now, before I wake Mrs. Turner there need to be a few understandings. Firstly, she believes your father was killed in a kidnapping gone wrong. Secondly, she's going to think I'm a cop. Third, you'll be spending a lot of time with Anna until I can find you a new safe house."

"I changed my mind." Jesse said hesitantly.

"About what?"

"No, kid!" Gabriel butted in sounding the closest to adulthood Harry had ever heard him come.

Apparently the angels protests only bolstered Jesse's determination though. "I want to help."

"Help?"

"Fight the demons." Jesse amended for Harry's sake. The more weakly he added. "They killed my dad."

Harry's heart went out to the kid. He knew what it was like to be in his shoes.

"No!" Gabriel insisted again, not helping the situation at all.

"Please!" Jesse said looking more like a child than he had at any moment before then.

"I don't think that's wise." Harry sighed.

Jesse's expression twisted from pleading to angry in an instant. "I'm not a kid! I can help!"

Harry supposed it was a good thing he'd been a father once upon a time, lest no one in the room know how to handle the situation. "No, at the moment you can't." He started, watching the hurt and indignation grow on Jesse's face. "You're not trained to fight, or even to control your powers."

As if to prove Harry's point the lights in the room had flickered warningly.

"I can help!" Jesse protested though this time Harry could sense the uncertainty of his tone.

"If you want to help you'll need to learn to control your powers first, and then you'll have to learn to fight. You want that?" Harry replied seriously.

Jesse hesitated, and for a moment Harry was sure he'd back out after having realized what helping meant. Then he nodded resolutely. Harry repressed the urge to sigh.

"You remember what I said about your mother?"

Jesse nodded, confused.

"Good. I'm going to wake her in a second and you'll need to play along. You have to realize something though. If you do this, you can't see your mom any more. She'd be at risk with no way to protect herself."

Jesse looked clearly upset now, but he wasn't backing down. "If I don't help she might not live anyway."

Harry had to admit, the kid had a point. He placed his fingers on Mrs. Turner's forehead, waking her, so they could have their reunion and say their goodbyes.

* * *

**This one took a good while to write thanks to work. I started carrying a notebook with me and wrote on breaks. It was really the only option I had. :/**

**Still, here it is. I got it out in less time than the last update took just as promised. So rejoice in that I suppose. XD**

**Anyone interested in the 'hammer of the gods' writing. That'll be coming up soon. Within the next three chapters I think. Really just depends on how much my brain puts out for the next chapter. We'll see. Well, 'til next time!**

**~Kanathia**

**P.S. My internet is about to go out so I don't have time to edit the second half of the chapter right now. I apologize for any weird misspellings or missing words. I'll look it over later and fix anything I notice. **


	19. Ch 18: Bello Lacessisse

**Hi, sorry for the delay, here's the chapter. Prepare for unexpected guests.**

* * *

"The Pendant of Anulis." Harry said taking pleasure in Dean and Sam both jumping at the sudden sound of his voice. He'd somehow managed to apparate directly behind them, and had taken advantage of the rare opportunity to startle them. "As far as I can tell it's nothing special. Just a pendant that a primitive race thought was magical. It has changed hands a fair number of times over the centuries but other than that its history is a bit unremarkable."

"Jeez!" Dean said with a scowl still clutching his chest like Harry might try to scare him again. "Can't you use the front door like everyone else?"

"So what you're saying is it can't be the cause of all these people coming back to life?" Sam inferred ignoring his brother's reaction in favor of focusing on the details.

"Well it can't be Death." Dean cut in annoyed at his brother's dismissal. "They're not pale enough and the first ones have been walking around for several weeks with no signs of turning." He sounded annoyed as if he and Sam had already gone over this a million times.

"Unless Death changed the pattern for some reason." Sam countered.

"I don't think it's Death. There's no reason for Lucifer to get involved and Death wouldn't start resurrecting people without purpose." Harry offered. "It goes against his own rules."

"Maybe there is a purpose and we just don't see it."

"I followed some of them around for several days Sammy." Dean cut back in. "They're just normal, confused people who think they dodged a bullet."

Sam plopped back into his chair looking defeated. "What caused it then?"

"Bad call from a doctor?" Dean joked.

Sam scowled at his brother for making light of the situation.

"It happens more often than you humans would like to admit." Harry conceded. "But with so many cases in one area I rather doubt it."

"Witch?" Sam threw out.

"Bringing people back to life out of the goodness of his heart?" Dean sneered. "Yeah, cause all the ones we've met so far were great people."

"Maybe he knows them?"

"Let's not jump to conclusions." Harry offered with a frown sensing a massive argument coming from Sam if he didn't intervene. "You've done more research on the people since we last met I assume."

Sam nodded fishing out some papers and sliding them across the cheap wooden table. Numerous pictures stared up at Harry each of them showing one of the supposedly 'resurrected' patients. Some looked mockingly familiar like he'd seen them before somewhere though he couldn't peg why.

Dean heaved a sigh. "Cases are never straight forward anymore."

"Hmm…" Harry hummed to himself putting two pictures side by side when he noticed something off. One of the photographs showed a woman in her mid thirties. She had long brown hair that almost covered the mark that had piqued Harry's interest. "Are these pictures from before or after the resurrections?"

"A little of both." Sam replied scooting closer trying to see whatever it was Harry had spotted. "Why?"

"This mark here." He said pointing it out. "Several of them have it."

Sam surveyed the pictures. "You're right. It's identical."

"Let me see." Dean said snatching one of the photos to get a look himself.

"I don't recognize it." Sam admitted moving out of the way of his brother. "Do you?"

Harry shook his head.

"Do you think it means anything?"

"Perhaps." Harry pondered the mark from his side of the picture. "It seems we have another lead to follow at the very least."

Sam nodded pulling his phone out and taking a picture of the mark to mail to Bobby. Perhaps the old man would recognize it where they had failed.

"Dean, we have a problem." Castiel had appeared directly behind said man startling him for a second time that day.

Dean glared at the angel having almost dropped a plate of what looked to Harry like pie at the sudden intrusion. "Is it you forgetting to knock again?!" Dean asked glowering at both Harry and Castiel now. "It's freaky how many people we know that can just pop into a locked room!"

Castiel had ignored Dean's rant in favor of fixing Harry with a curious stare. "What are you doing here?"

"Curious. I was going to ask you the same thing."

Castiel seemed to remember he'd come for a reason, turning back to Dean he stated in his normal tone. "People are being resurrected."

"Thanks for the clue Watson, but you're a bit late." Dean said snippily. "We already know."

Castiel seemed caught off guard by that. "You do?"

"Do you know what's causing it?" Sam asked hopefully.

Castiel turned still somewhat shocked eyes on him. "To an extent." Castiel obliged.

"Is that a 'yes' or a 'no'?" Harry asked frowning. "I couldn't tell."

"I have an idea of what may be causing the disturbances." Castiel conceded.

"And?"

"There was an artifact stolen from a secure van."

"The Pendant of Anulis?" Sam cut in showing him the picture and using the name Harry had given them.

"No." Castiel said shaking his head. "It was larger. A staff. It belonged to a shaman."

"It's the only robbery I've heard of in the area." Dean said eyebrows drawn together.

"The amulet must have been worth more." Harry surmised. "If you want something to go missing unnoticed take something more important at the same time. The newspapers probably focused on the more valuable piece and completely ignored anything else that was taken."

Sam had already pulled out his laptop while Harry was talking and was rescanning the bookmarked page. He nodded turning the screen to the others and proving Harry right. Just one sentence in the article acknowledged that another item had been pilfered.

"So what does the staff do?" Dean asked curiously.

"It has the ability to reanimate corpses." Castiel answered.

"But that's not what's worrying you." Harry supplied again noting the way Castiel cut off.

Castiel just stared at him in response. "We do not know who is using the staff, but it must be someone of considerable power."

Harry nodded. He could read between the lines. Castiel was worried there would be another new power player in this whole 'apocalypse' mess.

Sam's phone rang and he flipped it open. "Hello? Yeah Bobby?" Sam nodded a few times before taking the phone away from his ear. "He said he'll meet us here. He's got a lead on the mark."

Harry scoffed. "So what, we have to wait six hours for him?" Harry stood up shooting an annoyed look at the phone in Sam's hand, aware Bobby was still on the other end. "I have a better idea."

In the blink of an eye Harry was gone. Approximately a minute and a half later he was back with Bobby at his side. Unfortunately Bobby took a tumble onto the floor as gravity set in and his wheelchair wasn't under him.

"What the hell did you do that for you idjit!" Bobby yelled propping up his upper body and glaring as menacingly as he could while sprawled on the floor.

"It's hardly my fault you didn't hold on to the chair when I apparated." Harry scoffed.

"Well go back for it!" Bobby said red faced.

"Better idea." Harry said again kneeling behind Bobby who tried to swat the wizard away. Instead there was a sharp red light and suddenly Bobby yelled in pain, but then, to the surprise of everyone but Harry, Bobby's legs spasmed.

The look on Bobby's face was priceless. Annoyance was still plastered there like a frozen DVD.

"Did you just fix his legs?" Sam asked wide eyed.

"No, he's been faking this whole time. What do you think?" Harry turned his gaze from Sam to Bobby. "Are you going to lay on the floor all night?"

Bobby seemed to still be trying to catch up with the fact that he was no longer paralyzed. He moved one leg, then the other, taking Dean's outstretched hand to stand. He nearly toppled over again at the unfamiliar feeling of standing. "You could do that the whole time?" Bobby asked incredulously.

"What's with the obvious questions today?" Harry snorted.

"Kid, if I wasn't so shaky on my feet right now I'd kick your ass."

"Love the sentimentalism that's spreading around but do you want to tell us what it was you found?" Harry asked eying the man as he retook his seat by the small table. If he was spreading miracles he was going to take one of the few chairs in the room. He was sure Bobby was relishing his ability to do anything but sit any way.

Bobby seemed to snap out of his daze and he withdrew a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "The Mark of Tergeo." Bobby said holding out the picture Sam had emailed him along with a few notes. "There were a couple of references to a staff."

"The Mark of Tergeo?" Dean repeated nonplussed. Harry, Sam, and Castiel were in the same boat though Harry was loath to admit it.

Bobby handed off the sheet to Sam still talking ignoring Dean's quintessential need to repeat things. "It hasn't been seen in centuries. We're talking King Arthur, knights of the round table old. The man who used it supposedly travelled up from somewhere around Egypt and started threatening Kings. Arthur stepped in to help some ally against them."

"Wait…Arthur?" Sam cut in. "As in King Arthur…from Arthurian legend?"

"Not that I usually have an issue with legends, but was Arthur even real?" Dean tacked on.

Bobby shrugged. "Do I look like I was around back then?"

The three sets of eyes turned to the only ones in the room old enough to have been alive during that period of time.

"The name does not sound familiar." Castiel said unsure.

"He was a bit of a prick. Never really kept his abnormally long nose out of other people's business."

"He was real?" Sam asked excitedly.

"No I just enjoy talking about fictional characters like I knew them." Harry said quipped shooting Sam a look.

"Were you around when any of this stuff was going down?" Bobby asked motioning to the paper Sam was holding.

Harry shook his head. "I never stuck around Camelot long."

"Was Merlin real?" Sam asked eyes lighting up.

Harry fixed him with a measuring gaze. "Is now really the time to play twenty questions?"

"Er, right…" Sam accepted the admonishment with more grace than usual sparking Harry's interest. "So, who do we think is using it now? Can't be the same guy right?"

"Dunno." Bobby said frowning. "There wasn't too much that made sense in those books. It was all pretty vague."

"Well his power was bringing people back to life right?" Dean butted in. "Maybe he's immortal."

"There aren't too many people running around that can claim immortality." Harry supplied. "If the guy's hostile it would be better for us if he wasn't."

Everyone seemed to share a moment of silence contemplating the difficulty of killing someone who'd had centuries more experience than them as well as being most probably harder to kill than the average human.

"I'll look into it." Castiel said, vanishing in his usual manner.

Harry spared the empty air where the angel had stood a glance before turning his attention back to the Winchesters. "I doubt sitting here's going to answer any questions. Feather probably had the right idea, leaving." Harry stood, but Sam lunged forward and grabbed his arm startling everyone in the room. Harry shook his arm loose of the big hands giving the tall man a bemused look. "Problem, Sam?"

"Right…er…sorry. I thought you were gonna…" Sam swiped his hand through the air in a motion that vague indicated disappearance. "I needed to ask you something."

"You have my attention."

The look in the younger man's eye told Harry this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. "I was wondering if we could talk…outside…" Harry didn't miss the look Sam shot his brother.

Harry shrugged, effectively agreeing and shaking Sam's hand the rest of the way off at the same time. The night air was warm and Harry waited impatiently for Sam to stop fidgeting and just ask about whatever it was that was on his mind.

"When we first met…" Sam started, more than a little hesitant.

"You were trying to get your brother off the hook for his deal." Harry finished for him. "I have very sharp memory." Harry tapped his head. "Besides, it's not like it's been that long. What about it?"

"Well, I was thinking…"

"Dangerous territory." Harry prodded with a smirk.

Sam continued as if he hadn't heard. "If you can enter hell and save people…"

"I wouldn't really call it saving…" Harry corrected.

Sam swallowed a lump in his throat. "I was wondering if you could save my dad."

Harry blinked. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting Sam to ask, but it wasn't that. "You want me to save John Winchester from hell?"

Sam nodded.

"John Winchester, the raving psychopath who's tried one too many times to put a bullet through my skull?"

"He's not a psychopath!" Sam interjected as his brain caught up with all that Harry had said.

Harry scoffed. "Clearly you and I have a different definition then." Still, Harry changed thoughts. "Even if I could, your father's been in the pit for over a year Sam. I don't think you realize what that does to a person."

"I'm not sure he's even still down there." Sam said again, unsure.

"Meaning?"

"When the devil's gate opened we saw dad, but we don't know what happened afterwards. I just…he doesn't deserve to be down there. He wasn't the greatest dad ever…but he wasn't a horrible man." Sam couldn't meet Harry's eyes. "He doesn't deserve hell for saving Dean."

Harry watched Sam clearly trying to conceal the emotions roiling beneath the surface. He wasn't sure what part of him was spurred to say what he did next. "So, go to hell, check the guest book and see if Winchester's on the roster. Sounds doable."

Sam's head snapped up, surprised. "Seriously? Just like that?"

"Just like that." Harry replied. Honestly, hell had gotten him thinking about a certain lady he knew was down there right now. Perhaps he'd pay her a visit.

* * *

"_I'm on it._" The surly Scottish voice assured Harry.

"Good." Harry said eying his watch. Ten past three. He heaved a sigh clicking the disconnect button on his phone and sliding it into his pocket. "I'm going to have to hire someone to fill in for me at this rate." He said eying his office with a frown. They definitely weren't taking his office if he hired them. He wasn't going to share it with a twenty something year old with an altogether too positive look on life.

Alas, the apocalypse wasn't waiting and he still had paper work to file. It was a necessity to hire someone. He slid into the elevator and made his way down to reception with a frown. He felt slight amusement when the people who usually greeted him in the hallways seemed to drift to either side to avoid his determined gaze.

"Laura." He said stopping right in front of the front desk and drawing the attention of the receptionist who was more than a little startled by his sudden appearance. She stammered an apology to whomever was on the phone and promised to call them back immediately before replacing the receiver and turning his way.

"Y-yes, sir Mr. Potter? I wasn't aware you were in the building today."

Harry's frown turned into a pleasant smile and the tension seemed to leak from Laura's shoulders. "I needed to see to some things. Could you do me a favor and gather up all the resumes that have been sent in, in the past few days? I need them sent to my office."

"Of course. Is there anything else you need sir?" she asked looking she wanted to point out that human resources usually handled the resumes.

"No, I think that will be all for now." He made to step away. "Ah," he turned back something having caught his attention. "Could you tell Josh to cut back on the coffee? I think he might be about to blow a fuse over there."

Laura followed his gaze to a man in his mid-thirties whose arm kept jerking every couple of seconds like a nervous tick. Sure enough about eight Styrofoam cups were piled to the side of his desk.

"Actually…just ask him if he needs time off…" Harry said eying the man as if he might drop at any moment.

"Uhm…yes, sir. Anything else?"

"Nope, that's all. Keep up the good work."

Harry reentered the elevator and pushed the button for his office taking a moment to just breathe.

"So anything interesting happening?"

Harry tried not to flinch at the sudden voice to his right. Instead he shot the annoying angel a half-hearted glare. "You could say so."

"Ooh…interesting how?" Gabriel said following Harry as he exited the elevator.

"People are being resurrected, there's a really old staff missing, and I'm about to make a pit stop to hell. Pick your brand of interesting."

"You're going to hell?" Gabriel blinked. "What for?"

"Sam played the 'daddy's in hell' card and I'm being sentimental lately, merlin knows why, so I decided 'hey why not make it a road trip'?" Harry said taking a seat and watching as Gabriel paced for a minute in front of him.

"So let me get this straight…Lucifer wants you to join him."

Harry nodded.

"Something you're opposed to."

Another nod.

"Lucifer's stronghold IS hell…" Gabriel turned to look at him at this point. "And you're gonna go strolling in because that chucklehead asked you to?"

Harry shrugged. "Essentially."

"You know, even for you that's nuts."

"You're missing a few key details."

"Like?"

"Lucifer hates hell." Harry pointed out. "I'm probably safer down there than I am up here. If there's one thing Lucifer's afraid of, it's getting trapped in that box again."

"True." Gabriel conceded. "But every demon in the joint is gonna have sights out for you."

Harry shrugged again. "If I couldn't take on a few demons I don't think I'd have made it this far in life."

Gabriel opened his mouth to argue but Harry cut him off glancing at his watch. Half past three. "I have to go. If you want something to do try to figure out who has the staff while I'm gone. That would be brilliant."

Gabriel crumbled a candy wrapper in irritation as the room was suddenly empty, save himself. Just to spite the man he dropped the trash on the floor before he too vanished as if he were never there.

* * *

3:30 was the time when Harry found it easiest to cross the borders between the human dimension, and hell. If one tried to force their way through at any old time of day it was like fighting a raging current. At 3:30 Harry could step between the two like passing between two sheets hanging on a drying line.

Hell was much the same as he remembered. It was dark and damp and filled with the pained screams of others. He knew some of those doors he passed led to giant spaces unbound by the physics of the human world. They were lightening, and pain, and hooks, and every other horror imaginable…plus a few new ones.

HE skirted around what seemed to hell's arrival gate, a bustling hub of activity that was never quite complete without the miserable cries of the damned. Ah, yes, he was remembering why he'd hated this place so damned much.

Still, what he was searching for was near the 'entrance'. He pulled open one of the ancient doors, seriously the place needed a remodeling. Maybe he'd bring it up if he found himself in need of stalling topics while in the same room as that smarmy git Lucifer. The pungent odor of rotting meat instantly drifted out and Harry swung the door shut again with a shake of his head. Wrong door.

He tried the next. Half naked woman on a spit…Nope. Not what he was looking for. Demons really needed better organization skills.

He opened a third door and found another long dark hallway very similar to the one he was standing in. The only difference was the lack of cells…or any sort of door for the matter. The walls were instead lined with slates. Each one was approximately eleven by thirteen inches and spaced six inches from the next. To the ignorant it would look like and extraordinarily bland decorating style. To those in the know it was like a demonic filing cabinet. Harry ran his fingers over the first stone on his left. Names and dates filled his mind. Contracts. Well, low profile contracts or ones that had already been collected on. Just to annoy some demon, somewhere Harry smudged a few names in the records. Just enough that some man from Michigan who wanted his wife back got off of his ten year sentence. When it came time to collect a demon needed more than just their word to hustle a soul down to hell after all. Bureaucracy was a bitch that way.

Harry found no mention of John Winchester in the first tablet, so he moved to the second. Once again he found no mention of the older Winchester but he did find his second target. Bela Talbot. Or, Abby as she had been named by her birth parents. Her contract was just one among many. He doubted the demons had even protected the thing when it was still pending.

He checked the listed contents of her contract before flipping through the rest of the contracts. No Winchester again. He moved down the line tablet by tablet until he struck pay dirt. John Winchester's name rang every bell for top priority Harry could think of. Even his contract seemed heavier in Harry's mind than the others. But the fact that it was here, and not in the hands of a demon meant it had been fulfilled. That meant John was either here, or they thought he was.

Harry used a 'point me' spell to locate Bela's cell. There was a moment of slight dizziness as his mind spun in a way akin to a wand before he got a distinct impression of down and to the left. He cast another, this time focusing on John's name. His head spun and continued to for a good three or so minutes before Harry canceled the charm. He huffed in irritation. "Guess we're doing this the old fashioned way." He said moving toward the door and checking his watch. 7:30. He'd wasted a good few hours going through the tablets. He needed to make sure he had everyone he was taking back by the time the 3:30 marker rolled around again, lest he have to stay an additional twelve hours. Not exactly his idea of a day at the beach.

He made it back out onto the previous hall and cautiously made his way closer to the entrance. Now it was just a waiting game, and fortunately it didn't last long. He'd only been kneeling there behind one of the many pointless arches about ten minutes when a demon broke away from the throng and headed in his direction. Harry caught a full glimpse of the thing without its usual human vessel and was disgusted by its grotesque form. Still, he followed to what he proclaimed a 'safe' distance from the others and then attacked. With a kick to the back of the knee and two hands on its skull forcing magic through its every cell it went down fast. It let out one blood curdling scream and then went silent. He pulled the demons limp corpse from the hall so it wouldn't be stumbled upon as easily and then set to work.

Hands once again on either side of its face Harry closed his eyes and let information stream from the demons brain to his. He pushed as much of the torture aside as possible nearly retching at some of the more…vivid images. Oh yes, he'd gotten lucky. This was one of the demons who'd filled Alistair's recent hole in command. That meant he had access to the more…sought after victims. No John Winchester bells were ringing from its memories but he now knew how to get to the place where they would've been holding John if he was here, Alistair's racks. And that was definitely something.

It took a good hour of navigating the catacombs of hell and dodging demons before he found the place he was looking for. It looked perfectly innocent from the outside. Well, as innocent as a door in hell could look. But as Harry reached for the doorknob he felt his fingers twitch in remembrance. He'd spent centuries in here. It wasn't something he recalled fondly. He took a deep breath. No need to break down now. It certainly wouldn't help the situation. The door swung open easily to reveal exactly what he remembered. Hooks and lightening and carts full of instruments straight from a psychopath's wet dream.

But it was eerily silent. No screams from torture victims or laughs from demons. No sloshing of flayed skin or clanking of moving chains. Odd. There was a human pinned to one of the racks in the distance. Harry made his way over. It took longer than he thought it would but these dimensions didn't exist like the ones he was used to so he supposed that was to be expected.

"Holy shit." Harry murmured eying the man in front of him. Someone had left him in less than perfect condition just dangling from the meat hooks. "John Winchester." Harry said disbelievingly.

A groan followed his speech as the man seemed to rouse into semi consciousness.

"Who'd have thought Mr. Pessimism was right?" Harry said frowning. He'd more than half thought that Sam's worries were unfounded. He'd never heard of a soul getting dragged back into the pit after it had escaped. He supposed John was just unlucky enough to be important. "Good morning sunshine. You look like shit."

"Eat me." John ground out, not even bothering to open his eyes.

"Oi, don't get snippy with me Winchester. I'll leave you here." Harry shot back.

Apparently that hadn't been the programmed response John had been expecting. He opened his eyes just a crack, and then fully in surprise.

"Surprised to see me?" Harry said with a snort. "I'm staggered I'm here too. Strange isn't it?"

"Well…this is new…" John admitted eying Harry speculatively. "They've tried to guilt me about killing 'innocent' monsters before, but they've never used you. Guess they ran out of ideas."

Harry rolled his eyes before snapping his fingers and, slowly lowered the glowering Winchester. "That would imply you had the talent to kill me." He was debating just dropping him, but figured it would only damage his cause of getting out of there fast anyway. "I'm not a demon or an illusion. Use your brain Winchester. Besides, the demons don't have half enough class to have picked this suit out." He stepped forward and put and hand on John's shoulder, focusing. John swatted the appendage away and took a swing at Harry. Having expected something of the sort he managed to side step the punch and replace his hand. "I'm trying to heal you, you prat, hold still."

It took only a few seconds for Harry to pull the hooks from John's shoulders and sides before healing the most severe of John's wounds. It wasn't a physical body but if John believed it was injured it would still have inhibited him. Harry opened his eyes to find John watching him warily.

"Assuming you are the real Potter, why would you come to hell to rescue me?"

Harry shrugged, tugging John to his feet when the man still hadn't moved. "A favor."

"For who?"

Harry glanced back. John had stopped walking again. He huffed in annoyance. "Your son." Harry snipped back. "We really don't have time for a heart to heart Winchester. We're on a deadline. Not to mention you want to have this bloody conversation in the middle of hell. Not the best setting."

John's eyes were dark. "Which one?"

"Pardon?"

"Which one?"

"Sam." Harry answered plainly watching John's shoulders grow even more tense.

"What was his price?"

"Oh for the love of Merlin!" Harry shouted angrily. "I'm not a demon you ignorant ass. How many times did I tell you that when you were alive? And your son didn't pawn his soul so will you get a bloody move on? I have someone else to retrieve and we're running low on time as it is."

John said nothing else for a long time. He just followed Harry through corridor after corridor as Harry followed a point me spell toward Bela. It was a dizzying trip for the wizard and he was at least partially thankful for the silence. At least he could concentrate. He stopped outside of one of the many doors and checked his watch. 11:49. They weren't making terrible time. He shouldered the door open.

Cold stone walls stretched to either side of the entrance. A much more solid look than Harry was used to hell having. Then again Bela always had hated being caged and that was precisely what the room must have felt like to its shivering occupant.

Bela was huddled in a corner covered in burn marks and who knew what else. He couldn't tell if she was crying and just trying to distance herself mentally from everything that had happened to her.

"Afternoon Bela." Harry said crouching to be on level with Bela's eyes if she turned his way. He heard the solid thud of the door swinging into place behind John.

Bela seemed hesitant to even acknowledge there was someone in the room with her but eventually she swung her head his way. She immediately recoiled at the sight of him, revealing the blood her hands were covered in. Harry grimaced at the panic written on her face, but then she seemed to calm a bit as if her sharp eyes caught something only she could see. "It's really you…isn't it? Not some cheap copy."

"In the flesh, kid." Harry said straightening now that he saw he might not need to coax the woman out of her ball.

In fact, she seemed more than happy to move. She lunged forward trying to punch Harry much like John had. Unlike John's swing he hadn't been expecting her violence, and took the blow full on. He felt his nose crunch but caught himself before he could fall. "Ow!" he said indignantly clutching his nose.

"Why? Why now?" She said anger blazing in her eyes. She still seemed scared, like the situation might reverse at any moment and she'd be the one in pain instead of him, but she wasn't hesitant. "You left me to my fate before."

"Yes, well. One cannot learn from their mistakes without the chance. Call it penance, or cruelty. I don't really care." Harry shrugged it off righting his nose and healing it with more than mild annoyance. "I'm offering you an out now though. You're more than welcome to take it or leave it. I'm sure John wouldn't mind getting out of this place a bit sooner."

John huffed behind him. Whether in amusement or agreement he couldn't tell. Bela pushed herself forward. "Do I look like an idiot?" she said before making her way toward the door shakily.

Harry shrugged again as John let her and himself out. "Debatable."

* * *

Harry, Bela, and John were drawing close to their exit time, but with three people their movement became a lot slower. Harry was sure the demons were starting to catch on that something was up. They were passing more and more of the lower tier demons in the halls making it hard to move from area to area without being spotted.

They were found out about twice but Harry had gotten the jump on the demons and took them out before they could raise any sort of alarm. Harry motioned with his head for the other two to shelter behind a door as another group of demons passed. But they were close. Just a bit further.

And then they were there, sliding through the final door and into the relative safety of Harry's arrival point. It was just a blank room. Probably an empty cell. Harry checked his watch. 3:18. Just twelve minutes to spare. They had cut it close.

"What happens when we reach the other side?" Bela asked noting Harry's frequent glances to his watch.

Harry fixed her with a level stare. "You pass on." He supplied nonchalantly. "I haven't brought back either of your bodies. You don't have vessels to return to in the human world."

"Could you though?" Bela asked eyes sparking with intrigue in that familiar way. "Bring them back?"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Theoretically? Yes. It is what I was planning to do with…" he stopped himself glancing over to John who was eying him speculatively.

"What year is it? Out there, how many years have passed?" John asked changing topic.

"Since you kicked the bucket?" Harry clarified. "Three years have passed."

"Three years." John said rubbing his face.

"A lot has happened John." Harry said with a frown checking his watch again. It wouldn't do to miss their jump time by being sentimental.

"How long since I…" Bela cut herself off with a clearing of her throat when her voice threatened to shake.

"A few months." Harry blinked.

"Can you bring me back?" she asked hopefully.

Harry sighed rubbing the back of his head. "I can try." He said in irritation. He held out an arm to her. She stared at it curiously. "I need to have a short conversation with Mr. Winchester before we depart."

She reached out and grasped his arm. Her energy seemed to draw in on itself before moving into him.

"Sam told me you escaped hell once."

"You talk with Sam a lot?" John asked roughly.

"And Dean." Harry said snidely. "What dragged you back?"

"I don't know. One minute I'm a ghost on Earth starting to pass on and then suddenly I'm back here in this hellhole."

Harry nodded taking in John's words.

"What happened?" John asked eying Harry with the same wariness he'd started with. "Why would my boys start talking with-"

"Someone like me?" Harry finished for him. "I never really understood your vendetta against me you know. It all seemed so petty. Still…" Harry sighed.

"It was Sam wasn't it?" John sounded slightly disheartened.

"You know who…what Sam is then?"

"For a few years. I prayed I was wrong. Has he…is he…"

"He hasn't said 'yes' if that's what you're trying to ask me. The kid did contact me first. You called that right, but he did it to save his brother. Considering your reasons for being down here I somehow think you don't really disagree with trying to save Dean. Funnily enough though, he was trying to save Dean from a deal that Dean made to save him. The world is a twisted place."

John looked equal amounts shocked and ready to punch someone's face in. "That idiot! How many times did I tell him! How many!"

"Never to deal with a demon? Plenty, I'm sure. You Winchesters never really seem to apply logic when it comes to family though. Besides, he was only following in his father's footsteps."

"Dean…did he…is he here?"

"No." Harry replied curtly.

"His contract isn't up yet." John said with some relief.

"No. He was here."

"You got him out?" John said with more surprise than Harry felt the statement warranted.

"Not quite. I got beat to the punch line."

"By who?"

"An angel." Harry shrugged checking his watch. "And we're about out of time…oh, and before you ask, no. I can't build you a body in the mortal world. Just thought I'd throw that out there before you asked."

"Not strong enough?" John growled out obviously mocking him.

"Stronger than you think. No, whoever laid claim to your soul wanted it badly. So bad that someone's still trying to pull you back here even after you leave. Being on Earth makes you that much easier to pull down. Besides," Harry brushed some lint from his sleeve. "I get quite enough Winchester idiocy with your sons running about. It would be torturous to add yet another one of you to the mix."

John opened his mouth, no doubt to obstinately deny either his sons' idiocy or his own, but Harry cut him off by holding out a hand.

"We're out of time. We need to leave." Harry left his arm outstretched to the old hunter waiting for him to make the move. "I don't have all day."

John finally reached forward obviously thinking that wherever he was being taken couldn't be worse than where he had been. The two flickered from existence as Harry passed back through the border into the normal world.

* * *

Harry just happened to come out of the borders in a forest. He couldn't tell where specifically and he didn't much care. He had more important things on his mind. With some focus Harry drew John's soul forward and out of himself letting it drift in the air in front of him.

Left to its own devices the soul seemed to take on a purplish glow and started to drift downward.

"Oh no you don't." Harry said trapping it in a bubble of magic. So he'd been right after all. Someone was trying to pull John's spirit back to hell even now. Well, he wasn't about to let them. He didn't want to make another trip down. He'd have to deal with more demons this time for sure.

Instead he forced himself to focus on the energy attached to the spirit. It was dark and disgusting just as he would expect from a demon, but it also made it very easy to distinguish between the two. With a few zaps of magic the foreign energy was dissipated to an almost nonexistent level.

Harry popped the bubble John's soul was stuck inside of and watched as it drifted skyward this time. He watched it for a good ten minutes before it was beyond his sight and he deemed it safe enough to leave. He had some thinking to do after all, about whether or not he'd be making a body for Bela.

* * *

**So, a short trip to hell. I'd been planning on doing that for some time. It was inspired by the episode where Sam saves an innocent soul from hell as a task. If Crowley could drag souls down for pissing him off I'm pretty sure other powerful demons have that auspicious talent as well.**

**I do apologize for the long delay. I had a family member pass and I've been dealing with a medical flare up which might require surgery. It can be a b it difficult to write when looking at the screen causes migraines. **

**Well, enough self pity. I hinted to one reviewer that Ms. Talbot would be making a return but was anybody else even remotely aware of it? I did develop a soft spot for her before her untimely disappearance. **

**Depending on how fast I wrap up this arch The Hammer of the Gods episode will come into play either in chapter 20 or 21. I know there were a few of you looking forward to that. **

**I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. 'Til next time!**

**~Kanathia**


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